They started slowly but in the knockout stages they have looked more like the team who were crowned European champions in 2017

Vivianne Miedema says that the Netherlands are “back in the flow” after overcoming a shaky start to progress to a World Cup semi-final against Sweden.

It has taken a long time for the European champions to find some rhythm. After their historic and unexpected march to the Euro final in 2017 against Denmark, they have struggled to extract from their potent forward line the exciting, attacking football that lit up their home tournament.

With only marginal room for error in European qualifying – only the top side in each five-team group were guaranteed progression – a shock draw with the Republic of Ireland and a 2-1 defeat by Norway ensured the Netherlands finished behind the latter.

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Reflecting just how hard it is to get through, they were paired with their Euro 2017 final opponents in a play-off semi-final, winning 4-1 over two legs, before producing the same aggregate score against Switzerland to clinch qualification.

Before the World Cup, expectations were generally low, though not in the Netherlands. With the European championship run having catapulted the team into the mainstream, tens of thousands have been turning up for friendlies and qualifiers, with a sea of orange flooding towards grounds, and Dutch hopes were high that they could mount a serious challenge in only their second World Cup finals.

A stuttering start in France saw the press back home lambasting performances. A 92nd-minute goal from the new Arsenal signing Jill Roord secured victory against New Zealand. That was followed by a chaotic 3-1 defeat of Cameroon and narrow 2-1 victory over Canada.

“In Holland they said we will be world champions and gave us a lot of pressure,” Miedema said. “The first couple of games we didn’t always play the best football but we got nine points in the group, we’re still in the semi-finals right now, so you can say that we’re back in that flow.”

Back to the fluidity of their 2017 campaign may be a tad generous but they have certainly looked significantly more solid since they climbed out of Group E. An exhilarating 2-1 win over the 2015 World Cup runners-up Japan marked the arrival of Lieke Martens at this tournament. Having been quiet in the group the Euro 2017 Golden Ball winner flicked out a heel to turn in a Sherida Spitse corner. Then, Yui Hasegawa having levelled, the Barcelona forward stepped up to power in a match-winning penalty in the last minute, a cool finish from a player under pressure.

A healthy, happy Martens is key to the Netherlands’ ambitions, and though she exacerbated a toe injury against Japan, she is expected to play.

Sari van Veenendaal in goal always has a big mistake in her but it has been an out-of-sync backline that has too often left the Netherlands floundering.

Other than in the opening match, the team failed to keep a clean sheet until the 2-0 quarter-final win over Italy. That victory seemed significant because they not only scored twice from open play, both headers, but also stood strong at the back.

Sweden stand in their way on Wednesday. Their last meeting was in the quarter-finals of Euro 2017, with Martens and Miedema scoring to secure a semi-final against England. The teams are evenly matched, the Netherlands eighth in the Fifa rankings and Sweden one place behind.

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In Miedema the Dutch have an ace up their sleeve. One of the best forwards in the world, she is in incredible form. Her three goals in France have taken her past Manon Melis’s mark of 59 to become her country’s record goalscorer at the age of 22. For context, the world record goalscorer Abby Wambach (184) made her USA debut at 21 and scored her first goal seven months later, just before her 22nd birthday.

If Shanice van de Sanden, who has drawn criticism for below-par performances, Martens and others can find Miedema then the Netherlands are a threat to anyone.