FIFA Women's World Cup - Semi-Finals - USA to face Netherlands in showpiece

USA beat England to make their third successive World Cup final, while Netherlands saw off Sweden in extra time to make their first final.

England 1-2 USA
Steph Houghton's late penalty was saved as England fell at the semi-final stage once again.
The 84th minute spot kick was held well by Alyssa Naeher in the USA goal, awarded as VAR showed Ellen White was clipped by Becky Sauerbrunn just before shooting for goal.
Soon after this, captain Houghton's centre-back partner Millie Bright was shown red for a second bookable offence.
Winger Christen Press and striker Alex Morgan had earlier scored headers either side of Ellen White's instinctive finish from Beth Mead's pass in the first half.
They had almost scored earlier, when Rose Lavelle nutmegged Bright before rounding Demi Stokes, but her shot was saved by Carly Telford - in for the injured Karen Bardsley.
There was intense pressure before the break, and some might say Phil Neville's side will be relieved to be only 2-1 at the interval, with Lavelle twice going close for the holders.

Photo from CNET.com

White then thought she had equalised from a brilliant Jill Scott through ball, only to be shown as offside from a VAR review.
Fran Kirby was introduced in the second half, which saw Nikita Parris return to the right wing as the Lionesses saw more of the ball.
But they remain winless against USA in World Cups, losing 3-0 in the 2007 quarter-final.
The next major tournament will be on home soil, with 2021's European Championship to be played in England.

Netherlands 0-0 (1-0 AET) Sweden

The Netherlands needed extra-time to make it to their first World Cup final, with Manchester United's Jackie Groenen scoring the decisive goal against Sweden.
A penalty shootout looked on the cards before Groenen shot low into the corner from outside the box.

Photo from CNN International

Sari van Veenendaal created the platform for the Dutch win, three times making important saves, before Vivianne Miedema had a header tipped onto the crossbar at the other end with both goalkeepers performing well.
Shanice van de Sanden came off the bench, and forced a save from Hedvig Lindahl to send the game to an extra half an hour.
Her energy and pace in the Dutch attack looked to be the difference, as Sweden were knocked out by the same team that knocked them out of the European Championship at the quarter-final stage two years ago.
Ranked eighth in the world, Netherlands have enjoyed a rapid rise towards the top of the women's game, two years after winning the Euros on home soil, and they have been backed by a lively, dancing horde of passionate fans all across France.
The game ended moments after Sweden's former Manchester City midfielder Kosovare Asllani was carried off on a stretcher with a concerning injury following an awkward landing.

Draw

England 1-2 USA

Netherlands 1-0 AET Sweden
=
USA v Netherlands

Never miss a post - enter your email address in the box on the right!

Follow me on Twitter
Check out my YouTube channel