The LGBTQ+ Netherlands players facing the Lionesses at the Women’s Euro 2025
Caitlin Dijkstra, Sherida Spitse and Danielle van de Donk are LGBTQ+ stars of the Netherlands squad. (Pat Elmont/Getty)
The England team’s next UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 game is against the Netherlands, a squad with eight out LGBTQ+ players compared to the Lionesses’ six.
England’s first match against France (Saturday 5 July) was disappointing as the team conceded 2-1. Their next match against the Netherlands is on Wednesday 9 July, with a 5pm BST start.
The Netherlands won 3-0 against Wales (officially the gayest team at the Euros) in their first tournament match. After facing England, the Dutch team will take on France on Sunday 13 July from 8pm BST.
After the Group D games, the top two teams from each group advance to the quarter finals, which will take place between 16 July and 19 July.
The squads will then play the runner-up of Group C, which could be any one of Germany, Poland, Denmark or Sweden.
The semi finals are in Zurich and Geneva on July 22 and 23. The Women’s Euros 2025 final is set for 27 July in Basel.
All of these games feature LGBTQ+ footy stars out on the pitch. Women’s professional football has consistently demonstrated a significant lead over the men’s game in terms of LGBTQ+ representation.
The 2023 Women’s World Cup and Euro 2025 qualifiers were no exception, with a record number of out LGBTQ+ footballers taking to the pitch.
Here’s a guide to the LGBTQ+ Dutch players on the Netherlands squad.
Kerstin Casparij
Kerstin Casparij plays as a right-back or central midfielder for Manchester City. The 24-year-old has 46 appearances under her belt and may hit 50 if the Netherlands aren’t knocked out in the group stages.
She signed a three-year deal with Manchester City to replace England LGBTQ+ star Lucy Bronze.
However, her LGBTQ+ activism and solidarity extend beyond the pitch. When Britain’s high court ruled that trans women do not fall under the legal definition of a woman, Casparij made an on-field statement.
After scoring a goal, she kissed her wristband, which was the colours of trans rights. On Instagram, she wrote: “Sometimes there are bigger, more important things than football.”
“My goal today was dedicated to all my trans siblings, who’ve had an incredibly tough & heartbreaking week. You have all been on my mind and in my heart, you deserve so much more than what this government & society is giving you.
“I’m so incredibly proud of the trans existence within the queer community, and I’m proud of all trans women – you are women no matter what anyone says.”
Casparij is in a relationship with Ruth Brown. The pair met on Tinder and have recently opened up about their relationship. They moved in together, bought a house and got another cat in what Brown calls achieving “the sapphic stereotypes.”
Caitlin Dijkstra
Caitlin Dijkstra plays as a defender for the Frauen-Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg. She played for just 10 minutes in the Dutch team’s match against England but will surely be seeking more time on the pitch in Group D.
The 26-year-old missed the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup games as she had to withdraw.
Dijkstra is in a relationship with fellow football player Vera ten Westeneind. Dijkstra told Helden Magazine in 2021 that they’d been dating for years but had known each other for much longer.
“We played together at CTO Eindhoven and formed the central defence duo there. Vera then went to PSV, but had to stop due to torn cruciate ligaments on both knees.
“We were first best friends and that turned into love. After the World Cup for girls under the age of twenty in 2018, we told our families.
“Of course, my family also knew Vera much longer, because we were ‘only’ best friends at first. My mother was immediately very happy for me and said: ‘I thought so, you were so close.’
“A typical reaction of a mother. My father also reacted very positively. When we played football together, he also saw her a bit like his second daughter.”
Vivianne Miedema
For Anna Margaretha Marina Astrid ‘Vivianne’ Miedema, football runs in the family. Her younger brother, Lars, is also a football player. It was he who encouraged Vivianne to celebrate her goal (she was known for never overtly celebrating), which made her the Netherlands’ top scorer in 2019.
Miedema has scored more goals at the international level for the Netherlands than any other player, across both the women’s and men’s teams. She also became the first Dutch player to score a hundred international goals.
Miedema was previously in a relationship with Scottish footballer and ex-Arsenal teammate Lisa Evans for six years. However, she has now been with England footballer and former Arsenal teammate Beth Mead since 2022.
Miedema and Mead will face off against each other in the England vs. Netherlands match. Speaking about the game, Mead said they are “both very, very competitive and professional. We’re both excited for the tournament and to be able to play in it again.”
In an interview with PA Media, Miedema said she believed that a top men’s player coming out would do a lot to tackle homophobia in the sport.
“If someone was to come out and that player is fully respected, from there on it would be easy for a lot of other boys to come out as well,” she shared.
Jill Roord
Jill Roord has football running through her veins: she is the daughter of René Roord, a Dutch football manager and the technical manager of the women’s team FC Twente.
The 28-year-old attacking midfielder for the Dutch club FC Twente. She has earned over 100 senior international caps and is her country’s seventh all-time top scorer. Roord has an impressive 163 club goals and 30 international goals.
Roord is in a relationship with two-time Olympic gold-winning Dutch hockey player Pien Sanders.
Rumours of their relationship were confirmed to Dutch news outlet AD after Roord broke up with FC Barcelona footballer Jana Fernández.
Speaking to the outlet, Roord shared: “I’m very much in love with Jill and we’re having fun together.”
Sanders added that: “These are important games for me, so I really appreciate that [Roord] is on the sidelines.”
Sherida Spitse
Netherlands captain Sherida Spitse made her debut for the Netherlands in 2006, at the age of 16. Now 35, Spitse has made 46 appearances for her country.
Spitse was voted Player of the Year in 2023 and 2024 by Dutch football club Ajax supporters and technical staff.
In 2019, she became the all-time leader in caps for the Netherlands.
In 2021, Spitse suffered a knee injury which ruled her out of the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics. However, the next year, Spitse was able to get back on the pitch and make her 200th cap with the Netherlands.
Spitse married marketing manager Jolien van der Tuin in 2018. The pair have two children together, Jens, born in 2017, and Mila, born in 2020. Spitse and van der Tuin divorced in 2024.
Daniëlle van de Donk-Carpenter
Daniëlle van de Donk-Carpenter is a midfielder for the London City Lionesses on a free transfer from Lyon
Donk-Carpenter has played for football teams since the age of 4. She made her first professional appearance at the age of 17 and her Dutch national team debut at 19.
She was previously in a relationship with former Arsenal teammate Beth Mead, who is now in a committed relationship with Vivianne Miedema, Donk-Carpenter’s Netherlands teammate.
When Donk-Carpenter joined Lyon, she met Ellie Carpenter, her teammate and Australia’s defender. The pair got engaged on 2024 New Year’s in the Maldives. Just last month, during Pride Month, the pair tied the knot at a Château in the South of France.
With gorgeous photos in Vogue Australia, the two footballers shared: “We’d known of each other before, just from playing internationally and being in the same circles, but it wasn’t until she joined the team that we really connected.
“From the start, there was just this natural chemistry, both on and off the pitch. It all felt really easy and genuine.”
Ilse van der Zanden
Ilse van der Zanden is making her senior debut for the Netherlands at the 2025 Euros. Previously, she has played for the Netherlands under-15, under-16, under-17 and under-19 teams.
Zanden is making her Netherlands tournament debut with fellow players Daniëlle de Jong, Veerle Buurman and Chasity Grant.
The 29-year-old plays as a defender for the Dutch league Eredivisie club Utrecht and will be hoping to keep the clean sheet they have so far.
In 2022, Zanden got married to Joelle de Bondt and Zanden often shares snaps of them together.
From sunny holidays to sharing the love on anniversaries, the pair are very sweet online.
Lynn Wilms
Lynn Wilms plays as a right-back or a centre-back and came off of the bench for the Netherlands to help the team maintain a clean sheet against the England side.
She began her career in her home country before relocating to Germany to join Wolfsburg where she made over 100 appearances for the club. The 24-year-old has made 54 appearances for the Netherlands since joining the senior squad in 2019.
On Monday (7 July), it was announced that Wilms is the first signing of the summer window for Aston Villa. Many pundits are noting that she will be crucial to strengthening the team’s defence for their 2025-26 campaign.
There are rumours that Wilms is dating Mirthe Lansink, and they seemed to confirm it with some cute couple TikToks and Instagram posts together. Additionally, it appears Lansink was present as Wilms signed to Villa.
The UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 tournament will be played in Switzerland from 2 to 27 July 2025. You can read more of our 2025 Women’s Euros coverage here.
