Either the Dutch or the Swedes will progress to face the USA in Sunday’s Women’s World Cup final in Lyon
Netherlands are aiming to reach their first Women’s World Cup final when they take on Sweden in Nice on Wednesday in Lyon, with the USA waiting.
The reigning European champions defeated Italy 2-0 in a scrappy quarter-final, having overcome Japan thanks to a late penalty. In the group stage, they beat Canada, Cameroon and New Zealand.
Sweden, who reached the 2003 final, moved through a group containing the Chile, Thailand and the USA, before ousting Canada and Germany narrowly in the knockout rounds.
| Game | Netherlands women vs Sweden women |
| Date | Wednesday, July 3 |
| Time | 8:00pm BST / 3:00pm ET |
| Stream (US) | fubo TV (7-day free trial) |
In the United States (US), the game can be watched live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial).
New users can sign up for a free seven-day trial of the live sports streaming service, which can be accessed via iOS, Android, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Apple TV as well as on a web browser.
| US TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| Telemundo / FOX Sports 1 / NBCSN | fubo TV (7-day free trial) |
In the United Kingdom (UK), the game will be broadcast on BBC One and it can be streamed live online using BBC Sport Live and BBC Sport iPlayer
| UK TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| BBC One | BBC Sport Live / BBC iPlayer |
Netherlands are set to name a starting XI close to the one that knocked Sweden out of the 2017 European Championship. Dominique Bloodworth and Merel van Dongen will be the new faces.
Possible Netherlands starting XI: Van Veenendaal; Van Lunteren, Van der Gragt, Bloodworth, Van Dongen; Groenen, Spitse, Van de Donk; Van de Sanden, Miedema, Martens
| Position | Sweden squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Lindahl, Falk, Musovic |
| Defenders | Andersson, Sembrant, Glas, Fischer, Ericsson, Ilestedt, Bjorn |
| Midfielders | Hurtig, Asllani, Roddar, Seger, Anvegard, Rubensson |
| Forwards | Janogy, Jakobsson, Blackstenius, Olme, Rolfo, Larsson, Schough |
Fridolina Rolfo is suspended for this match, with Lina Hurtig set to replace her in the starting XI.
Possible Sweden starting XI: Lindahl; Glas, Fischer, Sembrant, Ericsson; Rubensson, Seger; Jakobsson, Asllani, Hurtig; Blackstenius
The Netherlands are 13/10 favourites with Bet365, while Sweden are available at 21/10. A draw can be backed at 9/4.
Click here to see all of bet 365’s offers for the game, including goalscoring markets, correct score predictions and more .
Netherlands and Sweden will compete to face the USA in Sunday’s Women’s World Cup final, with neither of the European sides having lifted the trophy previously.
While the Swedes were the runners-up in 2003, the Dutch have never gone so deep in the competition, and while they won the 2017 European Championship, striker Vivianne Miedema says their current run in the competition was beyond their expectations.
“We have done amazing and we can be really proud,” the Arsenal striker, who scored the opener in the untidy 2-0 quarter-final win over Italy, said. “We have been complaining a lot that we have not played the best football but in the end we are in the semis.”
With three goals at the tournament, she has established herself as one of the undoubted stars of France 2019, with 61 career international goals to her credit at the age of just 22 – making her the Netherlands top scorer of all time.
A strong Gunners core has been the secret to the success of the Dutch, with Danielle van de Donk, Dominique Bloodworth and Sari van Veenendaal both turning out for the London club last term.
“Obviously it is really easy because we have been playing together for two years,” she said. We play as goalie, centre-back, number 10 and me and it is the same at Arsenal so you get to know each other a lot better.
“I just need to look at Dominique Bloodworth and I know where she is going to play the ball. It is the same with DVD, we just have that connection. It helps me a lot and it helps our team a lot, and I am happy that we have got that.”
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Sweden, meanwhile, have shown they are a side not to be underestimated thanks to their shock come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Germany.
Indeed, they have circled a possible rematch against the US after losing 2-0 to them in the group stages – the only match of the tournament that they have failed to win.
Wednesday’s fixture offers something of a chance of revenge for them, as they were knocked out of the latest European Championship by the Dutch, 2-0 at the quarter-final stage, while they have lost their last three against this opponent.
With the Netherlands having proven formidable from set pieces – six of their last eight goals have come from such a scenario – Sweden will not be able to relax for a moment if they are to make their second final.