The United States is on the cusp of becoming back-to-back Women’s World Cup champions.

A tournament that at first seemed as if it wasn’t going to challenge the dominant Americans quickly transformed into a series of tight-knit, thrilling one-goal contests with opponents that dreamed of spoiling the U.S. run.

Only the Netherlands stands in the way of the United States’ fourth World Cup title, the most in the tournament’s history.

The U.S. outscored their opponents 18-0 throughout the group stages — shutting out Thailand, Chile and Sweden — and are heavily favored to defend their 2015 championship. But advancing to the title match took three one-goal contests with stiff opposition against Spain, France and England — proving the Americans were going to have to fight for all their success.

This is the first time the Netherlands and the United States are meeting in the World Cup, but the ninth time they have faced off in international competition. The Americans hold a 6-2-0 advantage and a 26-9 goal differential.

The Netherlands have never appeared in the Women’s World Cup final. They went undefeated in the group stage — beating New Zealand, Cameroon and Canada — before ousting Japan, Italy and Sweden in the knockout rounds. The match against Sweden went into 30 minutes of extra time, becoming the first Women’s World Cup semifinal to go into extra minutes, before the Netherlands took a 1-0 victory.

The victory against Sweden was also the 12th match in a row the Netherlands won in a major tournament, dating back to when they were crowned as European champions in 2017.

Lieke Martens, the FIFA player of the year in 2017, is a standout for the Netherlands, but has struggled in this tournament. She was substituted for at halftime in the semifinal and is battling an injury.

If Martens doesn’t play, depth will be a huge area of concern for the Netherlands.

Injury has affected the U.S. as well, with star forward Megan Rapinoe and tenacious midfielder Rose Lavelle both affected by injury in the semifinals against England. Rapinoe never even warmed up, later revealing he sat because of a hamstring strain. Lavelle was subbed out in the second half with hamstring issues as well.

The U.S.’s Alex Morgan leads the tournament with six goals as she looks for the Golden Boot title, awarded to the top goal scorer. The tiebreaker for the award is assists, giving Morgan the advantage over England’s Ellen White. Morgan has three assists, and White had none.

If Rapinoe plays, she could contend for the title as well, given her five goals and three assists through five games.

“It was very minor to begin with,” Rapinoe told Fox Sports of her injury last week. “Keeps getting better every day. I expect to be ready for the final.”

The United States will take the field in their third consecutive Women’s World Cup final, facing the Netherlands for the championship at 11 a.m. Sunday in Lyon, France. Here are some keys for the U.S. to pull off their fourth World Cup title:

1. Experience

This is the Netherlands’ first World Cup final appearance, a glaring difference from the U.S. team. The Americans have qualified for the past three finals, and this is Team USA’s fifth title game since the tournament’s inception. They’ve won the championship three times.
It’ll be vital for the U.S. to play like veterans of the big stage. The Netherlands has had its fair share of championships, but none of World Cup stature — which could manifest itself in opening-minute jitters. The Dutch are the underdogs, but have proven they can win big games before.

But you can’t put a price on experience, and the U.S. always was expected to get back here and win it all again.

2. Netherlands is a second-half team

The first half has been the U.S.’s strength throughout the tournament, in which they have scored 10 of their 24 goals in the opening half. The Netherlands has dominated the back half of games, with nine of their 11 goals coming after halftime. The opposing dynamic suggests that this will be an intense matchup from start to finish, with each team hitting its stride at different times.

It’ll be key for the U.S., in its opening run, to dig too deep of a hole for the Netherlands to climb out of. The U.S. defense needs to be on its toes and ready to buckle down in the second half, when the Netherlands is most likely to make a move.

3. Depth

This matchup could come down to the depth of each team. The United States has one of the deepest benches in the tournament, and the Netherlands’ is relatively shallow. Despite the U.S. potentially playing without midfielder Rose Lavelle and a less-than-100 percent Megan Rapinoe, there are players who will be ready to go and have proven to be just as effective. Sam Mewis, Christen Press, Carli Lloyd and Ali Krieger comprise a lethal rotation of substitutes who can maintain the Americans’ high pace of play and contribute offensively — as we saw when Press replacing Rapinoe in the starting lineup against England.

Netherlands star left wing Lieke Martens is questionable for the finals after leaving the semifinal match against Sweden with an injury, leaving her team at a huge disadvantage. It’s hard to imagine Martens won’t take the field, but if she does and has to come out, the Dutch don’t have the same kind of talent sitting on their bench as the Americans do.