A women’s football revolution has fired a Netherlands fairytale but an epic journey is not quite over yet

Veritas Stadion in Turku, Finland, is an unlikely location for the start of a football revolution. Ten years ago, the Netherlands made their debut at the European Women’s Championship with an inconspicuous 2-0 win over Ukraine. The idea that a decade later the Dutch could be in the Women’s World Cup final would have seemed rather far-fetched to the 2,571 spectators in Turku that day.

In midweek, at the Stade de Lyon, a side that includes three players from the 2009 squad overcame tournament mainstays Sweden to give themselves a shot at World Cup glory. “One more match and we might be world champions,” said a shocked Jackie Groenen, whose extra-time goal was all the Dutch needed to vanquish the Swedes. “It’s one match – anything could happen,” added her coach, Sarina Wiegman.

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Meteoric feels insufficient to describe the rapid rise of women’s football in the Netherlands over the past decade. The Dutch played their first women’s international in 1956, losing to their neighbours West Germany. Despite this relative head start in women’s football – many of their counterparts at the World Cup have much shorter sporting histories – the game was sorely neglected in the half-century that followed. It was not until 2007 that a domestic league, the Eredivisie Vrouwen, was established.

After making their Euros debut in Finland – reaching the semi‑finals – the Dutch were back at the continental championships on the next occasion. They also qualified for their first World Cup in 2015, losing 2-1 to Japan in the last 16 after making it out of their group as one of the best third-placed teams. Four years on from their first appearance at Fifa’s showcase, the Dutch are in the final, where they will face three‑times champions the United States on Sunday.

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“I think the potential has been in the Netherlands for a long period of time, but the facilities weren’t there,” Wiegman says. “When the Eredivisie started, players got better facilities and could train more. They developed so much – they could suddenly improve. Then when you are at big tournaments – the Euros and the World Cup – you improve even more.”

The Dutch have improved in a hurry. They won the 2017 European Championships on home soil, during only the team’s third appearance in the tournament.

Despite their inexperience, the Netherlands entered this World Cup among the favourites thanks to a fearsome frontline: an attacking trident of Lieke Martens, Vivianne Miedema and Shanice van de Sanden. A pre-tournament demolition of Australia did little to dampen those expectations, in front of a Dutch record crowd for a women’s football match.

But while they have made the final, there is no doubting that the pressure has burdened the team in France. “At the Euros no one expected a lot from us,” says Arsenal’s Miedema. “We came here and in Holland everyone said we’ll be world champions.”

Few of the Netherlands’ victories over the past month have been vintage. They needed an injury‑time goal to scrape past New Zealand in their first group game and a dubious penalty to beat Japan in the last 16. Nor were they particularly inspiring on Wednesday, requiring 99 minutes to open the scoring against Sweden despite boasting such a fearsome strike force.

Yet paradoxically, their match-up against the best team in the world could have a liberating effect. “We love being the underdogs – it’s the best role to be in,” says the midfielder Daniëlle van de Donk. “I don’t think [the USA] think we’re that good. I hope that is going to be an advantage.”

The American behemoth is not the only thing standing between the Dutch and a continuation of their fairytale run. The Netherlands endured a tough quarter-final against Italy in scorching afternoon heat, and then had to run for 120 minutes against Sweden.

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The ill effects of fatigue were evident in Lyon and, with the tournament drawing to an end after four gruelling weeks, the tired legs will be difficult to shake off before the final. Martens is also struggling with a toe injury and was withdrawn at half-time against Sweden.

Sherida Spitse, on the other hand, has played almost every minute of the tournament for the Netherlands, providing four assists from her vital midfield role. She was in Turku a decade ago, as a fresh-faced 19-year‑old, when the journey to this World Cup final began. “We have made steps since then, that’s for sure,” said the Netherlands’ most-capped international. “But the players who came before us in the national team – they also helped build this up.”

When Spitse and her colleagues enter the cavernous Stade de Lyon, it will cap a truly remarkable rise across the past decade. Not that the Dutch have any time for reflection. “I don’t want to look back,” Spitse says. “We are looking forward.”