The Netherlands earned their maiden UEFA Women’s European Championships title ©Getty Images

The Netherlands earned their maiden UEFA Women’s European Championships title by beating Denmark 4-2 in a thrilling final in front of a home crowd at the FC Twente Stadion in Enschede.

Backed by a strong support, the Dutch looked to start the final quickly but they instead found themselves trailing in the opening minutes.

A loose ball in the Dutch area was latched on to by Denmark’s Sanne Troelsgaard, with the midfielder then tripped by defender Kika van Es’ outstretched leg.

Nadia Nadi kept her composure to stroke her penalty into the net to silence the crowd in the sixth minute.

The hosts quickly bounced back.

Pacey winger Shanice van de Sanden broke clear down the right side of the Danish defence, before squaring for Vivianne Miedema to tap in from close range to level the score in the 10th minute.

The turnaround was completed by Lieke Martens, with a left footed strike from the edge of the box finding the corner of the Danish net in the 27th minute. 

Vivianne Miedema struck twice for The Netherlands in the final ©Getty Images
Vivianne Miedema struck twice for The Netherlands in the final ©Getty Images

The match continued to swing, as a sublime solo effort six minutes later from Danish captain Pernille Harder powerfully flew beyond The Netherlands goalkeeper Sari van Veenendaal.

Goals continued to flow as the second half began, with Dutch captain Sherida Spitse placing a precise free kick into the bottom corner of the Danish net in the 51st minute. 

The hosts were able to keep their opponents at bay as the second half continued, before sealing victory in the dying minutes.

Miedema cut into the Denmark box on the counter attack in the 89th minute, before wrong-footing the goalkeeper with a clever finish to secure her second goal and round off a 4-2 win.

Martens was also able to celebrate being awarded the player of the tournament prize after the match, while England’s Jodie Taylor was confirmed as the winner of the golden boot, having found the net on five occasions.