Victoria Pelova

Victoria Pelova (Dutch pronunciation: [vɪkˈtoːɾia peˈloːva]; born 3 June 1999) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Women's Super League club Arsenal[1] and the Netherlands national team.[2]

Victoria Pelova
Pelova with Ajax in 2021
Personal information
Date of birth (1999-06-03) 3 June 1999
Place of birth Delft, the Netherlands
Height 1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Arsenal
Number 21
Youth career
2006–2016 DSV Concordia
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2019 ADO Den Haag 67 (27)
2019–2023 Ajax 64 (11)
2023– Arsenal 16 (1)
International career‡
2017–2018 Netherlands U19 15 (8)
2018 Netherlands U20 6 (2)
2018– Netherlands 39 (3)
Honours
Women's football
Representing the  Netherlands
FIFA Women's World Cup
Runner-up2019 France
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 3 May 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 11 April 2023

Career

Clubs

Pelova started playing football in her birthplace with DSV Concordia and was signed by Dutch Eredivisie club ADO Den Haag for the 2016/17 season. In her freshman season, she finished fourth with ADO, scoring seven goals as her team's second-best scorer. For the 2019–20 season, she moved to Ajax Amsterdam in the Eredivisie, where she received a three-year contract.[3]  In the 2020–21 UEFA Women's Champions League she failed with Ajax in the sixteenth final at Bayern Munich, since both games were lost (1:3 and 0:3).

She lost in the last round with Ajax in 2022–23 UEFA Women's Champions League qualifying at Arsenal, who she joined in January 2023.[4][5]

National Team

In April 2017, she qualified with the U-19 team for the 2017 Under-19 European Championship. In this she played two group games and in the 2–3 lost semi-final against Spain, where she scored the interim 1–1. In October 2017 and April 2018 she took part again with the U-19 team in the two qualifying rounds for the 2018 Under-19 European Championship.[6] She was then able to qualify with her team for the finals in Switzerland, but did not take part. Instead, she was part of the squad for the 2018 U-20 World Cup, which took place just days later, for which the Dutch had qualified for the first time as semi-finalists of the U-19 European Championship in 2017. There she featured in the three group games and the quarter-finals, lost 2–1 to England, where she gave her team a 1–0 lead.[7][8]

Already in January 2018 she had her first assignment in the senior national team. She came on as a substitute in the 81st minute of the 2–0 loss to Spain on 20 January.[9] Her second mission followed a year later. She came on as a second-half substitute in the 2–1 win over South Africa in Cape Town.[10] They met Spain again in the 2019 Algarve Cup, coming on as a substitute in the 58th minute and losing again 2–0.[11]

After these three international matches, she was nominated as the youngest player for the provisional World Cup squad.[12][13]  However, she was not used at the World Cup yet.[14]

In qualifying for the 2022 Euro she was substituted on three times. She was also nominated for the 2020 Olympics, which was postponed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[15] At the Olympics she scored her first international goal in the Netherlands opening match against Zambia.[16]  She came on as a substitute in the three group games and quarterfinals against USA. In the victories against Zambia (10:3) and China (8:2) she scored one goal each.

She was substituted twice and three times in the first seven games of qualifying for the 2023 World Cup.

On 31 May, she was nominated for the European Championship finals.[17]  At the European Championship, she played in the three group games and in the quarter-finals, which they lost to France in extra time. In the group game against Switzerland, she scored the goal to make it 3–1 and gave the assist to make it 4–1.[18]

She was also on the bench in the last qualifying match for the 2023 World Cup against Iceland. A goal in added time saw the Dutch win 1–0 and qualify for the World Cup.

Personal life

Pelova pursues Applied Mathematics at Delft University of Technology.[19] During her childhood, she excelled in several different sports including chess, snowboarding, and tennis.[20][21]

Career statistics

International
As of match played 11 April 2023[22]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Netherlands
201810
201960
202010
2021122
2022151
202340
Total393
Scores and results list Netherlands' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Pelova goal.
List of international goals scored by Victoria Pelova
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
121 July 2021Miyagi Stadium, Rifu, Japan Zambia10–110–32020 Summer Olympics
227 July 2021Nissan Stadium, Yokohama, Japan China7–28–22020 Summer Olympics
317 July 2022Bramall Lane, Sheffield, England Switzerland3–14–1UEFA Women's Euro 2022

Honours

Ajax

Arsenal

References
  1. "Victoria Pelova joins the club". Victoria Pelova joins the club. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  2. uefa.com. "Women's World Cup – Victoria Pelova". UEFA.com. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  3. "Officiële website AFC Ajax Amsterdam – Ajax.nl". www.ajax.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  4. "Pelova: "Arsenal was always my dream club"". Pelova: "Arsenal was always my dream club". Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  5. "Report: Arsenal Women 1–1 Chelsea". Report: Arsenal Women 1–1 Chelsea. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  6. "Netherlands U19 vs. Spain U19 – 17 August 2017 – Women Soccerway". us.women.soccerway.com. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  7. "FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup France 2018 - Netherlands - FIFA.com". web.archive.org. 25 February 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  8. "England U20 vs. Netherlands U20 – 17 August 2018 – Women Soccerway". int.women.soccerway.com. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  9. "Spanje – Nederland". www.onsoranje.nl. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  10. "Zuid-Afrika – Nederland". www.onsoranje.nl. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  11. "Spanje – Nederland". www.onsoranje.nl. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  12. "Sarina Wiegman names Netherlands Women's World Cup squad | KNVB". www.knvb.com. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  13. "FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019™ - Netherlands - FIFA.com". web.archive.org. 21 March 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  14. "Pelova wil meer dan alleen ervaring opdoen". RTL Nieuws (in Dutch). 14 June 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  15. "Toernooidebutanten in Olympische selectie OranjeLeeuwinnen". www.onsoranje.nl. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  16. "Zambia – Nederland".
  17. "Definitieve selectie OranjeLeeuwinnen voor EK in Engeland". www.onsoranje.nl. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  18. "Switzerland vs. Netherlands – 17 July 2022 – Women Soccerway". int.women.soccerway.com. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  19. "Highlight: Victoria Pelova". TU Delft.
  20. "Delftse Post: Victoria Pelova".
  21. "De Telegraaf: Duizendpoot op noppen". 21 February 2021.
  22. Victoria Pelova at Soccerway
  23. "Ajax Women Champion 2022-2023".
  24. "Netherlands – V. Pelova – Profile with news, career statistics and history". Soccerway. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  25. Sanders, Emma (5 March 2023). "Arsenal 3–1 Chelsea: Gunners fight back to win Women's League Cup final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
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