WATCH Netherlands v Sweden - FIFA Women's World Cup semi-final - LIVE, FREE and in HD on SBS from 4:30am (AEST) Thursday morning or stream live via The World Game website / app.
All eyes this week, in Lyon and around the world, were on England’s encounter with the United States.
That will have suited the Netherlands and Sweden just fine.
These are two very capable teams, each of whom will feel quietly confident of emerging victorious in Monday’s (AEST) final against America if they can see off the other first.
Will the institutional experience of Sweden be too much for the relative World Cup naivety of the Netherlands? Or will the emerging generation of Dutch superstars shine on this global stage?
Here’s what we will be watching for at the Stade de Lyon.
1. A passing of the baton?
The all-European semi-final feels like a changing of the guard.
It pits the Swedes, stalwarts of international women’s football, against newbies Holland.
Sweden were runners-up at the 2003 Women’s World Cup, and have placed third on two occasions. They have also won the Olympic silver medal and made the final of the European Championships four times, winning it in 1984.
The Netherlands, on the other hand, only made their World Cup debut four years ago in Canada. They have never appeared at the Olympics (although that will change in 2020), and have only contested the Euros on three occasions.
And yet for all that, it is the Dutch who will begin as favourites on Thursday.
Sarina Wiegman’s side shocked everyone to win the 2017 Euros and have looked relatively untroubled on their undefeated run to the semi-finals in France. With young talent in spades, the Dutch appear to be a rising power.
Sweden, meanwhile, lost to the United States in the group stage and were fortunate to sneak past Germany. They were knocked out of the quarter-finals of the last European Championships, by the Netherlands.
It is far too early to write the obituary for Sweden as a dominant nation in the women’s football.
But a win on Wednesday would signal that the Dutch, new kids on the block, mean business.
2. Will Sweden’s experience count?
To put it simply, Sweden have been here before.
This is the Blagult’s fourth visit to the World Cup semi-finals, after reaching the final four in the first-ever tournament in 1991, and then again in 2003 and 2011.
That institutional memory could come in handy, particularly if 90 minutes fails to separate the team and the match heads to extra-time and penalties.
In those nervy moments, the fact that the Dutch have never played in such a significant match could tell against them.
The Swedish players, on the other hand, will be able to take comfort from their past achievements in the latter stages.
Sweden also have a psychological edge over their counterparts, with a historical advantage of 10 victories to six plus five draws across the two teams’ past encounters.
3. When are the Dutch going to fire?
On paper, the Dutch attacking line-up is fearsome.
The trident of Lieke Martens, Vivianne Miedema and Shanice van de Sanden are enough to cause concern for even the most experienced defender.
But for all that, the Netherlands haven’t quite fired in France.
The Dutch were fortunate to squeeze past New Zealand in their opening Group E encounter, with a 92nd minute winner.
They then struggled past Cameroon, and needed a 75th minute goal from youngster Lineth Beerensteyn to overcome Canada.
Their round of 16 clash with Japan seemed destined for extra-time until a questionable 90th minute penalty.
In other words, the Dutch have hardly set the world alight at the World Cup.
“At the Euros no-one expected a lot from us,” admitted Miedema ahead of the match. “Once we started winning our country stood behind us, and we got in the flow.
“We came here and in Holland everyone said we’ll be world champions,” she continued.
“That gave us a lot of pressure. The first couple of games we didn’t always play the best football. But we still got nine points in the group, we’re still in the semi-finals. I think you can say we’re back in that flow.
Will the real Dutch side stand up on Thursday?
4. Can the student become the master?
At the pre-match press conference on Tuesday, Swedish coach Peter Gerhardsson gushed about his love of Dutch football.
“In 1974, when I was 15, I watched Holland v West Germany – that was one of the greatest footballing experiences of my life,” Gerhardsson admitted.
“From that World Cup final onwards, I have always been fascinated by Dutch football – Johan Cruyff and everyone.
Gerhardsson later studied in Rotterdam, Holland, cementing his love of the Dutch game.
The coach was also effusive with praise for the current Netherlands women's team.
“The Dutch football that was played in the [European Championships] final was very close to our ideal,” he said.
Can this Dutch mega-fan mastermind an upset against the proponents of his ideal football?
Whatever the result, Gerhardsson is going to enjoy the opportunity.
“It is going to be an incredibly cool semi-final – it’s going to be fun to see if we can beat one of my favourite countries when it comes to football,” he said.
5. Which team can better cope with the heat?
It’s hot in Lyon. Really hot.
Even with the semi-final kicking off at 9pm local time, the temperature is still expected to be hovering around 28 degrees.
The Dutch side looked visibly affected by the warm conditions in their quarter-final fixture – a 3pm encounter – and with just three clear days between the matches, the impact might still linger.
Into the fourth week of a draining tournament, which team will have the fitness edge to go the distance – and overcome the weather?
“We are prepared for the heat,” Dutch captain Sari van Veenendaal said.
“We had a training camp in South Africa, where it was very hot. We have to face this heat and it is of course difficult for us. But in the first five matches we have been able to deal with the heat – let’s hope we can do so again on Wednesday.”
Kieran Pender is covering the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup for The World Game. Follow him on Twitter:
