Netherlands forward Martens out of Euros with injury

The Netherlands will be without forward Lieke Martens for the rest of Euro 2022 because of a foot injury.

Martens, who scored three times and was named player of the tournament as the Dutch won Euro 2017, was injured in the 4-1 win over Switzerland on Sunday.

Dutch boss Mark Parsons said: “This is terrible news for Lieke and for us.

“She has fully committed herself to the team during this tournament. It is very unfortunate that her European Championship has to end like this.”

Martens, 29, was troubled by a hamstring injury towards the end of the season at club side Barcelona but started all three of her country’s group stage games.

The Netherlands had already been hit by the withdrawal from the squad of captain Sari van Veenendaal with a shoulder injury.

Arsenal forward Vivianne Miedema took over the armband but subsequently missed two games while isolating with Covid-19 and remains a doubt to play against France in the quarter-finals on Saturday.

Miedema and Martens both scored as the Netherlands beat Denmark 4-2 in the 2017 final.

She was named Best Fifa Women’s Player and Uefa Women’s Player of the Year following the Netherlands’ victory on home soil.

BBC/ Mercy Chukwudiebere