USA win the Women’s World Cup after victory over Netherlands
Relive the USA’s historic victory over the Netherlands in Lyon
Sign up to the Independent's betting newsletter for the latest tips and offers
Sign up to the Independent's betting newsletter
The USA have won the 2019 Women's World Cup after a battling victory over the Netherlands in Lyon.
Second half goals from Megan Rapinoe and Rose Lavelle were enough to see the 2015 winners through to a win which sees them successfully defend the crown won in Canada four years ago.
The 2-0 win sees them lift the World Cup for a second time in a row and a fourth time in their history.
Please allow a moment for the live blog to load.
Good afternoon and welcome to The Independent's live coverage of the Women's World Cup final.
The United States have lived up to their billing as pre-tournament favourites sweeping through France in brash and brilliant fashion.
A win today would see them successfully defend their 2015 title and secure a fourth in their history.
The Netherlands have made less headlines but have been no less impressive on the way to Sunday's showpiece.
In Vivianne Miedema and Lieke Martens they boast two of the very best players in the tournament and will hope to add a world crown to their European title.
We'll have all the latest updates from Lyon throughout.
51 games have been and gone, 144 goals have celebrated, checked and celebrated some more, and it all comes down to this.
The final of the 2019 Women's World Cup sees defending champions the USA meet the Netherlands, reigning European Championship winners.
Kick-off at the Groupama Stadium in Lyon is just under an hour away...
Team News - Netherlands
A big boost for the Netherlands - Lieke Martens has come through her late fitness test and STARTS.
Anouk Dekker comes into the side that squeaked past Sweden in the second semi-final.
Team News
And the USA have now confirmed their team, with Megan Rapinoe returning to the front three.
Two full strength sides, then, with key attackers Martens and Rapinoe both fit to start and on the left of arguably the two best front threes in the competition.
Tactical Preview - Netherlands
Underdogs, yes, but the Netherlands are quietly confident of troubling this USA side. Sarina Wiegman has lifted her side out of the gutter, rather, since taking over on a full-time basis ahead of their triumphant home Euros in 2017, and in Martens and Vivianne Miedema possesses two potent forward threats.
USA showed a susceptibly down the middle against England, with their centre-half pairing struggling to track the movement of Ellen White with Nikita Parris buzzing in the hole. Miedema is a high class finisher and has similar aptitude for space to White, and if Danielle van de Donk and co. can find incisive passes through midfield as England did in the second half of that game, you can really get at the USA.
Tactical Preview - USA
There is a sense with this USA defence that they are perhaps more reactive than proactive, which is a touch problematic given their tendency to dominate the ball. They looked more content with the extra player at the back after Jill Ellis made that tactical switch late on, and Julie Ertz could perhaps shoulder a greater defensive load, or indeed slip back into a three, should the Netherlands really threaten.
Going forward, they tend to favour bursts of high impact attacking play rather than prolonged pressure, coming in targeted waves and content to sit in and play a possession game for longer spells. They will work the width, particularly utilising their right side to spread the defence and work inwards from there.
The return of Megan Rapinoe is key, of course, for she is a player who asks different questions of a defence from the left, questions that may be required to breakdown a defence that looked so stout in that rather stodgy semi-final.
England's campaign came to a disappointing close yesterday, never truly getting going in a third-place playoff for which they had little appetite, Sweden 2-1 winners in Nice.
But it is the USA defeat on which England will reflect, and The Independent's exclusive World Cup columnist Izzy Christiansen has done exactly that:
And with nearly 12 million people tuning in to the BBC's coverage of that semi-final, there is clearly a growing supporter base for women's football in the UK. The job now is capitalising on it, and growing it further, particularly with regards to the Women's Super League, and it appears plans are afoot.
Rumours have emerged in the last couple of days of interest from the Premier League with a view to potentially taking over the running of the competition, while there is yet more positive news today, with the FA considering switching a number of key WSL games to bigger, higher-profile stadiums, operating as double-headers with Premier League fixtures to hopefully accelerate the league's growth:
But back to affairs today, and to a rather pleasant Lyon, where the atmosphere is building nicely.
Say what you will about American fan culture - and there is plenty to say - they know how to generate noise, and the Dutch fans certainly aren't shy of cranking up the volume either.
Try getting this out of your head...
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies