Know these keys about the Netherlands as World Cup final kicks off

LYON, France – The Netherlands is one of the best stories of this World Cup, reaching Sunday’s final just a decade after it qualified for its first major international tournament.

Here are some things you should know about the U.S. women’s opponent:

Not much history

This will be only the eighth time the U.S. women have played the Netherlands, and the first game since 2016.

The teams met for the first time in 1991, the only game the Dutch have won. The U.S. has won the last six meetings, posting shutouts in four of them. The Americans have won the last two games by 3-1 scores. The Netherlands is one of the few teams that doesn’t have anyone who plays in the NWSL, either. All of the Dutch players are based in Europe, playing for clubs in England, France, Germany, Norway, Spain, Sweden and, of course, the Netherlands.

Ailing star

The Dutch might not be at full strength for the World Cup final.

Lieke Martens, the Netherlands’ star midfielder, is nursing a toe injury that forced her to come off at halftime of the semifinal against Sweden. Martens was hurt when a teammate stepped on her foot during the celebration of their 2-1 win over Japan in the round of 16. Martens scored both goals in the game, including a penalty kick in the final seconds.

“Didn’t feel good,” Martens said when asked about her foot after the Sweden game.

Martens has not trained since getting hurt, focusing on recovery instead. But the Dutch have only three days’ rest before Sunday’s final, compared with four for the U.S.

“As a player, you always want to play the biggest game of your career and this one of the biggest ones I hopefully am going to play,” she said. “I’m going to do the recovery. I really believe in the medical staff.”

While Vivianne Miedema has been tremendous and Lineth Beerensteyn has impressed, too, not having Martens would be a huge loss for the Dutch. The winger was both FIFA and Europe’s player of the year in 2017. She can score goals, but it’s her runs up the flanks that make her dangerous, opening space and creating opportunities for her teammates.

“I don’t know. She had a hard time,” Dutch coach Sarina Wiegman said after the semifinal. ”We’ll see over the next couple of days.”

Hot streak

The Netherlands will bring a 12-game winning streak at major international tournaments into the World Cup final.

The Dutch were the surprise winners of the European championship in 2017, winning all three games in the group stage and then knocking off Sweden, England and Denmark in the knockout rounds to claim the title. In France, they also won all three games in the group stage before beating Japan (round of 16), Italy (quarterfinals) and Sweden (semifinals). That’s quite a stretch, especially when you consider the Dutch had never played in a major tournament before 2009. This is only their second World Cup appearance.

“Going into a tournament, you want to win,” Wiegman said. “But given the history and the phase we’re in, you know the chances are pretty low of you winning. Now, all of the sudden, we’re playing the final. So that’s fantastic.”