The Netherlands knew they had it all to do after a heavy 4-0 defeat to England in their previous game, however, it was France who had the first opportunity of the contest when Delphine Cascarino broke into the area and saw her left-footed effort saved.
The rebound found its way to Sakina Karchaoui who had her right-footed effort saved at the near post by Daphne van Domselaar.
Having gone close, Les Blues took the lead with 22 minutes on the clock after some neat interplay saw the ball worked to the unmarked Sandie Toletti, whose right-footed effort from just inside the area found the bottom left-hand corner of the net.
The Oranje were staring elimination in the face, but they managed to find another gear to turn the first half on its head.
Andries Jonker’s side equalised four minutes after falling behind when Victoria Pelova curled a shot into the top right-hand corner, before an own-goal from Selma Bacha four minutes before the interval gave the game a completely different complexion with the Netherlands believing again.
The Dutch had the momentum heading into the second half, however, it was France who came out stronger with Cascarino lifting her close-range effort just over the crossbar shortly after the restart.
The Oranje were still in a position of strength at this stage, but a crazy six-minute period turned the match completely on its head.
Just after the hour mark, France drew themselves level when Cascarino’s through ball played Marie-Antoinette Katoto in, and the striker advanced inside the area before slotting past van Domselaar.
Netherlands needed to score another three unanswered goals to qualify at this point, but their hopes were put to bed as Cascarino’s effort from 25 yards flew into the top left-hand corner, before the omnipresent winger was in the right place to score Les Blues’ fourth goal after Katoto’s shot had hit both posts before rebounding to the in-form 28-year-old.
With the contest all but over, the French were able to enjoy the closing stages as Karchaoui converted from the penalty spot in stoppage time to round off an 11th consecutive victory which also saw Laurent Bonadei’s side extending their unbeaten run against the Dutch to five matches as their search for a maiden European Championship crown goes on.
Flashscore Player of the Match: Delphine Cascarino (France)