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Among the many storylines of the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup is Netherlands goalie Sari van Veenendaal, who’s put together an impressive stretch of play. Her performances have helped Netherlands make a run to the World Cup Final, where they face the United States Women’s National Team.
Through the three group stage games, Netherlands allowed just two goals, outscoring opponents 6-2 and emerging from Group E with the full nine points. The play of van Veenendaal during the knockout stage was even more impressive, as she allowed one goal in the first round against Japan, but posted shutouts against Italy and Sweden to follow.
One thing many soccer fans noticed about van Veenendaal is her height and reach, which isn’t surprising, and she towers over many USWNT players.
Netherlands Goalie Height: Sari van Veenendaal Stands 5 Feet 11 Inches
Although van Veenendaal appears to tower over the other players on the field, she’s listed anywhere from 5 foot 11 inches. On the official World Cup website, she comes in at 180 centimeters, which equates to right around 5 foot 11.
For comparison’s sake, van Veenendaal, who’s 29 years old, is taller than nearly each of the USWNT forwards. This includes Carli Lloyd (5 foot 8), Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe (5 foot 7). Christen Press and Tobin Heath both stand 5 foot 6 and Mallory Pugh, who’s just 5 foot 4.
While van Veenendall is right around 5 foot 11, she has quite a inches on USWNT goalie Alyssa Naeher, who’s listed at roughly 5 foot 7 and 1/2.
While the Netherlands keeper is still taller than many other players at her position, her reach appears to also be a big factor in her play. On numerous occasions in the World Cup, we’ve seen van Veenendall make multiple diving saves when she has to fully extend to keep the ball out of the net.
Sari Van Veenendaal’s Performance at 2019 World Cup
Through the first six games of the World Cup, the Netherlands as a whole gave up three goals, which tied for the second-fewest over that stretch with the USWNT, Canada and China PR. Obviously, Netherlands will play at least one additional game more than every other team with the exception of the United States.
Over that stretch, van Veenendaal had 13 total saves while proving to be one of the most impressive keepers in the World Cup.
She also earned the start for Netherlands for one game of the 2015 World Cup, a game against China PR which resulted in a 1-0 loss. China had an incredible 27 shot attempts during that game, 10 of which were on target. Although the end result was a loss for van Veenendaal, her performance in the match was impressive.
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Netherlands Goalie Height: Sari Van Veenendaal Towers Over USWNT Forwards