Netherlands vs Sweden: Who will face USA in the finals?
The Netherlands will be looking to make it to their first ever Women’s World Cup final as they take on Sweden on Wednesday evening.
The Oranje have been really impressive so far this summer, and have lived up to their reputation as dark horse contenders for the title. Amazingly, the Netherlands only made their debut in this competition in 2015, and four years later, are just a game away from participating in the final.
Sarina Wiegman’s ladies come into this game off the back of an eight-game winning streak. In fact, the Netherlands have not lost a game since a surprise 1-0 reversal to Poland in the Algarve Cup in March. Since then, the team have been going from strength to strength, and in only their second-ever World Cup appearance, have been in control from the very beginning.
Three wins out of three put the Netherlands on top of their quartet after seeing off New Zealand (1-0), Cameroon (3-1), and Canada (2-1). They held their nerve against 2015 runners-up Japan, who tried to get their way back into the match to no avail. Arguably, their best showing was their 2-0 defeat of an Italian side who also were in top form and were hoping to become the first Azzurre team to make it to the final four.
Their upcoming opponents, Sweden, also will come into this game brimming with confidence. Many have overlooked the Blågult, despite them being just inside the top ten. Well, as far as their fans are concerned, that’s just fine. And after their stunning result in the quarter-finals, people have started to sit up and take notice.
Sweden started their group stage campaign off well, with wins over minnows Thailand and Chile. Yes, they will be frustrated to have conceded against Thailand, but three points are three points. They were disappointed not to get the better of serial rivals USA as they lost 2-0, but bounced back to grind out a gritty 1-0 win over Canada.
Their best showing, however, was coming from a goal down against Germany. Remember, die Nationalelf are the second-ranked side in the world. Sweden had not beaten them since 1991. And more important, no team had ever lost in the quarter-finals after going a goal up since 1999.
Additionally, no one had been able to score against Germany. That is, until Sweden put two past them, thus ending their long-standing unbeaten streak and dumping the tournament favorites out of the competition.
Despite that result, Sweden are still the underdogs here. And they likely have no problem with that, albeit now more eyes are on them as they seek to get revenge on the USA in the finals. Meanwhile, the Netherlands will be looking to do one better than the men’s side – to win a World Cup title.
Who will come out on top in Wednesday’s intriguing tie?
