LIVE:
It's not all over for Sweden.
It will play again, as it takes on England in the fight for third place on Saturday. We will see you then. Until then, stick on with Sportstar as we bring you previews, analysis and statistics from the tournament and the final two ties of this edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup. Until Saturday, it is goodbye and goodnight from me. Hopefully I get my voice back by Saturday, after all the hypertensive screaming. Night, everyone, from all of us here at Sportstar!
Seems fit to see Netherlands take on USA. Both sides are unbeaten in this tournament and have had a spectacular run to the final. Sunday promises a brilliant contest. USA does enter this final as the overwhelming favourite but the Dutch have all to win and nothing to lose when they step out in Lyon this weekend. I personally cannot wait to see how this pans out. It maybe wishful thinking to hope for an upset, but hey, if there's one thing this World Cup has taught us, it is this that there are no impossible scenarios.
Netherlands has become the eighth different side to reach aFIFAWWC final, and the fourth different European side to do so.
Sweden's team huddle is heartbreaking to watch. Tears on both ends.
This game is a testament to how a single moment of brilliance can take you through to the best stages in life. Jackie Groenen will be so proud of her run tonight. More than anything, it was all about holding one's nerve in this semifinal. Netherlands will go back home a proud and happy side tonight. I promise, no Wiegman-scowling jokes today.
FACT:
Netherlands is the first European nation since Germany in 2007 to reach the final of the Women's World Cup
.
And we have our winners.
NETHERLANDS WILL TAKE ON USA here in Lyon in the final of the FIFA Women's World Cup.
Last chance for Sweden here.
The crowd is standing up and applauding Kosavare Asllani. She has been clinical in Sweden's campaign. She has been strapped down to that stretcher. We will have to wait for an update. No replacement will follow. Sweden has exhausted its substitutions
Asllani is being taken out. Looks worrying here for the Swedish player. That was a very strong shot to the face but soon after, in her fall, she landed quite awkwardly on her knee. The medical staff is handling her very gently here, and she has a brace on her neck.
A stretcher waits near Asllani. Cause for worry here? Asllani is not up yet. She is not getting on her feet yet. Sweden is looking worried and frustrated here. Sweden waits to take a chance with a set piece opportunity here.
120'+2' Asllani is down on the pitch after being on the receiving end of a headed ball. The medical staff jog out to check on her. She looks exhausted. 90 + 30 minutes of continuous play. I can only imagine how much stamina that takes. Kudos to both sides just for this.
120'+1' CHANCE!
Van de Sanden pushes up the right, dribbles past her defender, has a clear shot on goal.... and fails to even hit the target from incredibly close range! Miedema, and many of the Dutch fans, are wondering why the pass wasn't played instead.
Two minutes of added time for Sweden to manage an equaliser.
118' Van Lunteren perfectly times a sliding challenge on Jakobsson in the box and knocks the ball behind and away from danger! If she'd gotten that wrong it could have easily been a penalty!
117' A through-ball to Janogy is overhit and rolls safely into thearms of van Veenendaal.
116'
YELLOW CARD Van de Donk, who has been in a fairfew skirmishes in extra time, is shown yellow for a foul onAsllani.
Jackie Groenen's 20-yard strike is the difference between the two sides here in Lyon. Can Netherlands hold off as Asllani comes on to take a set piece.
Seven minutes remain.
111' Double substitution here from Sweden. Ericsson out, Andersson. Blackenstenius oiut, Larssonin.
108' Roord has the ball in the box and tries a snap-shot to the bottom-right corner of goal but skews her attempt wide. Goal-kick to Sweden.
The yellow and blue army is not letting this die. They are out there cheering their girls on. Sweden needs all the support they can get right now.
15 minutes separate Netherlands from its first ever World Cup final.
101'
As things stand, the Netherlands will face the United States in the final.
OH WHAT A RELIEF
for everyone. This is very similar to what Chennai felt like when we got rains after 6 months of living a parched life. The relief to see a change in that scoreline. The crowd feels it, the Dutch feel it, and so do we in the newsroom. This means we are not looking at penalties, unless Sweden has other plans.
99' GOOALLLL!!!!
THE NETHERLANDS TAKES THE LEAD! Groenen runs onto a loose ball just outside the box and struck a right-footed shot across the goalkeeper and into the bottom-left corner of goal! The Dutch fans are going crazy in the stands!
Netherlands 1-0 Sweden
Had Van de Sanden started earlier, would the scoreline have looked a little different? One wonders.
97'
Van de Sanden has been heavily involved in the last 10 minutes of gameplay. The end-product has left much to be desired, but Sweden is struggling to contain her nonetheless.
Frustration continues. It's a tense game.
94' YELLOW CARD.
Zigiotti picks up a yellow card for leaping through the back of van de Donk.
Interesting thing spotted during halftime. The Swedes had a psychologist come on out to give the girls a pep talk. Rasmus Wallin Tornberg was out to handle the nerves at this stage of the game. Mental health is so important and it's amazing to see that being prioritised. This is not a novelty, of course but it deserves a mention.
We are looking at extra time if neither team manages a goal here in the next minute and a half. Sigh.
90+2' CHAAAANCE! Shanice van de Sanden sends on flying straight towards the goal. A one-handed save from Lindahl thwarts it in time.
Five additional minutes now, minimum. Can the Dutch pull off another stoppage time wonder?
89'
Blackstenius makes a lung-busting run through the middle and makes it all the way to the edge of the box before van der Gragt hammered it out for a throw.
85' First yellow card of the game.
Spitse is shown yellow for a foul on Asllani, just the third for the Dutch at this entire tournament.
Casually scrolling through Twitter is distracting. Shanice Van de Sanden's middle name is Janice. Shanice Janice. Oh lord. This is going to keep me busy for a while.
ATTENDANCE: 48,452.
Heartening turn out for the tournament here.
81'
Groenen blocks a clearance and immediately crumples down on the pitch with the trainers run out to check on her. She looks uncomfortable but will continue.
This has been a physical game so far. 16 fouls from Sweden.
79' Double substitution for Sweden with 11 minutes to go. Janogy and Zigiotti-Olme in. Rubensson and Hurtig out.
Sweden's wild cards are out. Can they make the difference? Janogy did well to get Sweden going when it took on Chile. Can she manage it once more? The Blagult are desperate.
Sheer pace from Van de Sanden.
She is livid that she was all alone to deal with that opportunity She races across dribbling the ball and is very vocal in her disappointment on not being backed up on the side. The crowd joins her. Dutch and Lyon supporters going all out to cheer on the firebrand here.
73'
Having just entered the match, van de Sanden beats Eriksson down the right only to hit the first defender with the ensuing cross. The good, and the bad of the Dutch winger on display there.
Oh b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l Lyon. Look at those colours. Stunning atmosphere here for this semifinal.
Shanice Van de Sanden is coming on now. She plays for Lyon and this is her home ground. What a roaring welcome for her. She's got a beautiful shade of lipstick on. Oh how we miss Marta! Beerensteyn out.
Netherlands seems to have woken up to the need to pass better. Can a goal come through?
67' PENALTY SHOUT!
Hurtig goes down in the box after a sliding challenge from van Lunteren and screams for a penalty that the referee squarely denies!
66 minutes and goalless in Lyon.
65' CHANCE ! Miedema hit a looping header that had seemingly beatenthe 'keeper to the top-right corner of goal, but Lindahl managed toget a finger to it and pushed the ball onto the crossbar! What achance, what a save!
63' Van Beerensteyn drives to the byline andattempts a cross that's blocked behind by Eriksson. Corner to theNetherlands.
Madelen Janogy, Amanda Ilestedt
and
Julia Zigiotti are out warming up for Sweden. Janogy managed to score for the Swedes when she came on a couple of games ago. Strategy seems the same now. The players look like they're tiring out a little.
62' Asllani goes through the leg of Groenen, and the Netherlands will have a free-kick.
Dutch football has taken centrestage, the Oranje can claim their share of the praise for it too. I don't think any of us are going to forget that spirited Ajax stint in the Champions League. Good couple of years for Dutch football, across club and national levels.
60' 30 minutes left! Can either side find the back of the net andtake a step closer to the Women's World Cup Final?
59' Jakobssoncontinues to find space whenever she wants on the right, though thequality of crosses has dropped a bit in the second half.
57' OFF THE POST! After the ball bounced around the penalty area, Fischer collected the ball in the box and unleashed a low strike that seemed destined for the bottom-left corner of goal, but it hit the post and van Lunteren clears it away! How unlucky for the Swedes!
The energy seems to have dipped even in the stands. How long can the supporters keep the momentum going? Yes, we have chants but the trumpet cameos have come down quite a bit from that electric first half. Can the girls in the middle give the crowd some joy?
51'
It looks more like a 4-4-2 from Sweden at the moment, especially in attack, as Asllani joins Blackstenius on the front line.
48'
Van de Conk and Fischer go in for a 50-50 ball and after the clash, both get up and the Dutch continue to push forward.
Our Dominic tells us that his class nine teacher would call him "Dominique" as she thought it was cool. He's quite clearly not over it. Sofia, if you're reading this blog by any chance, you owe someone a sincere apology.
47'
That looked like a good chance for Sweden. Blackenstenius nearly manages to get the ball to a very dangerous place near the Dutch but here comes Dominique Bloodworth to the rescue. Well defended there.
14 of the 20 combined goals scored by these sides at this Women’s World Cup have come after the break. Anytime now then, right?
And we're back for the second half and
Roord comes on for an uncomfortable Martens . That injury doesn't look like it healed all too well.
SWEDEN 13 NETHERLANDS 1 : If this was a scoreline based on fouls committed, here's our scoreboard. This says so much in terms of the approach both these teams bring to the field.
Netherlands has not scored, but it hasn't conceded either. While precariously placed and standing without gains, there haven't been losses either.
I am not too worried about the goalless first half as Netherlands has a liking to score in the second half. Eight of the 10 Dutch goals have come after halftime.
It's surprising to set the Dutch take a backseat as far as set pieces are concerned, considering they have fashioned themselves into specialists of a sort as far as these go. Six of Netherlands' past eight goals came from set-pieces.
The referee blows her whistle. Goalless first half, it is.
45'+2'
The Netherlands has started to turn up the pressure here in the final moments of the half. Can they steal a goal before the whistle? We know they love that stoppage time goal. Can it happen here as the clock ticks towards the end of the first half?
45'
Miedema tries to sort her feet out on the edge of the box anddoes eventually shoot only to see her shot immediately blocked awayby the Swedish defence.
44'
Rubensson fouls van de Donk on theleft, and the Netherlands will have a dangerous free-kick withlittle time remaining in the half.
42'
Things have been a bitstop-start with the injuries and fouls thus far, but hopefully theyliven up with half-time looming.
I wonder what Ellis and Co must be thinking about this contest today. Neither teams have played in a fashion to give Morgan, Rapinoe and the Americans anything to worry about. Sweden though has shown glimpses of being the better side. Halftime is fast approaching.
Asllani is trying as hard as she can to make chances for the Swedish side. Interesting stat here on that front.
Veenendaal today is doing what Chile's Endler and Argetina's Correa all did so well. These saves are going to be crucial. Sweden is in no mood to relent and the Dutch are up to the challenge. 40 minutes have gone by and not a goal has been scored. Do I sense some frustration from the Oranje camp?
37' SAVE!
After a bit of a goal-mouth scramble, van Veenendaal managed a kick-save on a close-range effort from Hurtig to keep her side level!
We have readers joining us from all over the world and we'd just like to say hi to everyone following the game with us. This tournament has really made the world a smaller place in terms of getting the sport and these players out there. They may not be household names yet, but we've gotten to a place where it won't be unreasonable to expect that anymore.
35'
Fischer tries to fizz a pass over to Glas on the right wing,but the pass has too much on it and the latter can't catch up toit. Throw for the Netherlands.
33'
Another stoppage now after aclash of heads between Asllani and van der Gragt. Both seem alrightto carry on though.Right on the face there for Asllani.
29'
Things are just about dead-even in terms of possession with Sweden holding onto the ball just .4 per cent more than the Dutch thus far.
31'
On that cheerful note, we have now gotten a look at Van de Sanden. She is warming up. Beerensteyn seems to have hurt herself after a collission with Rubensson.
30 minutes are up and this game has not seen a drinks break. It isn't as scorching here in Lyon as it was across the country over the past few days. A heatwave in France has triggered temperature higher than summer levels here in India. Global warming is real, folks. Be very afraid.
27' Martens has not been allowed free movement today. She has Glas marking her very closely. Good strategy from Sweden. Miedema is finding her way through the Swedish defense, but vital assistance from Martens has not been available to her as much as she would have liked.
25' Brilliant acrobatic interception from Bloodworth as Sweden attempted an incisive pass to Jakobsson in behind the defence.
The first 25 minutes have seen a very evenly paced tug of war between both sides, in terms of possession and attempts to get the ball near the goal. I was talking about an iffy Dutch defense but the girls have done well to fend off Jakobsson and Co. I wonder which side will open the scoreline. At this point, it's anyone's game.
23'
Blackstenius nearly got to a pass that Jakobsson had playedinto the box, but a Dutch defender got there first, hit it off thestriker, and it will be a Dutch throw.
21'
Sweden, after a longspell of possession in the opposing half, is forced to play allthe way back to Lindahl and reset.
My colleague Dominic is here,
live-blogging the Wimbledon ties but he cannot get his eyes off the screen here. Dominic swears by the Gunners and the Dutch side has three players - Miedema, Roord and Van de Donk, all playing here today. It's 'Orange' here too.
I just took a quick scan of the newsroom to see what the support looks like here today. Netherlands is a crowd favourite here. And as I type that, the trumpets are out! Oh, music to our ears!
15'
Veenendaal looks like she's in pain but she will continue. This would have been an unfortunate stage to bow out with an injury.
13' CHANCE!
Blackstenius was played intothe box by Jakobsson, and the former launched the ball towards goalbut van Veenendaal manages to parry it away, and then dive on it!After the play, the Veenendaal has stayed down and will receiveattention from the trainers.
MILESTONES:
This World Cup has been full of those. Sweden's Hedvig Lindahl plays her 19th World Cup match, the most for her country. She is Sweden's all-time leading WC appearance maker, surpassing Therese Sjogran who played 18 WC ties.
10'
After an interception in the final third by the Netherlands,Miedema was played into the box where she took a touch too many andlost the ball. That looked really dangerous initially!
9' Awkwardmoment at the back as the Dutch defence freezes after they thoughHurtig had dribbled the ball behind. The Swedish winger tries herluck from a tight angle but van Veenendaal manages to get a hold ofit, ending the move.
7'
Beerensteyn makes her way to the byline and whips a cross towards Miedema that's cut out before it could reach the forward's head. Eventually, it's cleared by Sweden.
Sweden has the better head-to-head record with ten victories to six and five draws from 21 previous meetings. That total would have been 22 with the final of the Algarve Cup 2018, which was called off due to adverse weather conditions. As a result, the pair’s last showdown took place in the quarterfinals of the UEFA European Women’s Championship 2017, which the Netherlands won 2-0 following goals from
Lieke Martens and Vivianne Miedema . This duo is out together today too. Can they inflict some damage early on? For now Sweden seems to be the stronger starter.
1'
Referee Marie-Soleil Beaudoin blows her whistle, and this semifinal match is underway!
We've been hearing about the great broadcasting numbers the FIFA Women's World Cup has managed to garner in this edition. Here's a fun stat involving the Dutch. They have been observing their potential competition in the final closely, assuming they will make it past this stubborn Swedish attack of course.
National anthems now.
We have a LAST MINUTE CHANGE for Sweden today. Nathalie Bjorn is out with a fever. Elin Rubensson will be back, starting for the Blagult.
WHERE YOU CAN WATCH THE GAME: For those of you who wish to watch the game live, the match will be televised in India on Sony Ten 2 and Sony Ten 2 HD from 12:15am. Alternatively, fans can also live stream it on Sony Liv.
The Dutch are on a 11-match winning streak since the Euros they won. The issue here being that this is over a 2-year period. Can the Dutch keep this streak going? Sweden's defense is a lot stronger than that of Netherlands and Wiegman's girls will have to tighten their screws to give Sweden a hard time.
The players are warming up ahead of kickoff. Under 17 minutes left for play to begin. Are you ready? We sure are.
Talking points:
Netherlands has a penchant for late goals but with a team like Sweden at the other end and keeping its momentum in mind, the Dutch will want to open the scoring early. Sweden's strengths lie in its teamwork. The outfit bands together like a well-oiled machine and scores - a perfect display of that was on show in the game against Germany.
Netherlands though is hard to stop once it gets going. Miedema has been impressive this time around and the onus will be on her and the likes of Roord, who starts on the bench today, to turn the scoreline in its favour. Asllani is capable of doing the same for the Swedes so it looks like an even contest so far.
--xx--xx--xx--xx--xx--
Few changes that we need to discuss here ahead of this semifinal.
Sweden has made two changes today: Lina Hurtig is in, replacing suspended Fridolina Rolfo. A surprise though is that coach Gerhardsson has decided to start Nathalie Bjorn ahead of Elin Rubensson.
Wiegman makes one change today for the
Netherlands . Lineth Beerentsteyn comes in to replace Shanice van de Sanden. This is her first start of the tournament.
Sweden is the lowest ranked team in the World Cup now - ranked 9th. Netherlands is one better - at 8th place.
I can only imagine how confident Sweden must be coming into this game, with an impressive win over Germany, courtesy Sofia Jakobsson and Stina Blackstenius. Talking about Jakobsson, this tournament has acquainted us with a rather touching story behind her success in the game.
Read all about it here.
Netherlands has beaten Sweden in the quarterfinals of the Euro 2017, a tournament the Dutch then went on to win, much to the surprise of many. Will this game see an encore?
The Oranje received a very special wish ahead of the big game.
Netherlands
has also qualified for its first ever Olympic games too, an achievement that has left the Oranje quite overwhelmed. Striker Vivianne Miedema spoke about this in the pre-match press conference where she spoke of the burden of expectations on the team.
Read more about that here.
We have an interesting and open contest ahead of us today, so stay with us for live updates, lineup updates and all you need to know about the FIFA Women's World Cup.
This will be
Sweden's second final , if it manages a victory today. If the
Dutch have their way, it will be the
first ever final in its second World Cup appearance.
Welcome back everyone. We had a cracker of a semifinal last night when USA took on England for a spot in the final. The holders showed us all why they are the best team in the world with a closely fought 2-1 victory over the Lionesses. It was a game that had it all - drama, emotions and some stellar football. Rapinoe warmed the bench, courtesy a hamstring injury but she's hopeful to make it to the starting XI for the final on Sunday. Who will the Americans face? That question will have an answer tonight as the Dutch and the Swedes go at it in Lyon.
ROAD TO SEMIFINALS:
Sweden finished second in its group, behind 2015 champion USA. If it clears the Dutch hurdle today, it will meet USA again, but this time for the title. It hasn't had it easy though, most recently pulling off a stunning victory over two-time champion Germany in the quarterfinal of the tournament.
Netherlands ' journey through this tournament feels like a carnival, what with the kind of support they've had all through the tournament. The standout game, for me at least, would be its 2-1 defeat of Japan - a rematch of a 2015 game where Japan broke Dutch hearts and their World Cup ambitions.
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