Netherlands Beat Sweden in Extra Time to Book Women's World Cup Final vs. USA

The Netherlands became the second team to qualify for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup final, joining the United States after beating Sweden 1-0 in extra time on Wednesday. Jackie Groenen got the decisive goal.

The two teams canceled each other out until extra time, when Groenen blasted an excellent strike into the bottom corner to give the Dutch champions the lead. 

The Stars and Stripes beat England 2-1 on Tuesday. They're looking to become the second team in tournament history to repeat as champions in back-to-back World Cups, after Germany did so in 2003 and 2007.

While the United States and England put on quite the show during the first half of their semi-final, the Netherlands and Sweden failed to live up to the hefty expectations.

From the very start of the contest, both teams appeared nervous, playing to avoid conceding rather than scoring themselves. It led to plenty of physical battles in the middle of the park but almost no real chances.

Fouls and knocks were aplenty, and the play was stop-start throughout the opening half. That meant neither side could gain any real momentum, and the best chance fell to Sweden's Stina Blackstenius, who put Netherlands goalkeeper Sari van Veenendaal to work with a tame shot.

Lina Hurtig also drew a save from the Dutch goalkeeper, but Oranje ended the half on top, applying more pressure in the last five minutes than the rest of the half combined.

Sportswriter Hecko Flores was not impressed by the action:

Things remained cagey after the break, but Sweden's Nilla Fischer went very close to breaking the deadlock after an hour of play, hitting the post. 

The action started to heat up after the break, with Swedish goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl making a superb stop to deny Vivianne Miedema, who couldn't beat the stopper with a great looping header.

Hurtig wanted a penalty after a sliding tackle in the box, but the official was unmoved. Substitute Shanice van de Sanden went close late, but Lindahl was ready for the shot, keeping her team's chances of reaching the final alive until extra time.

It was the first semi-final in the tournament's history that needed extra time:

Van de Sanden continued to be heavily involved in extra time, but it was Groenen who finally broke the deadlock after 99 minutes, pounding on the ball just outside the box and unleashing a great strike into the bottom corner.

Sweden tried to hit back but appeared to lack the energy to break down the Dutch defence.

They made the curious decision to withdraw Blackstenius in the second period of extra time, even though the 23-year-old was one of just two players to score multiple goals for the team so far in this tournament. The Dutch easily survived their late pressure to book their spot in the final.

Kosovare Asllani suffered a late injury and left the pitch on a stretcher, and the Swedes finished the contest with just 10 players.

What's Next?

The third-place contest will be held on Saturday, while the final will be on Sunday.