Vivianne Miedema and Stefanie van der Gragt headed the Netherlands to a 2-0 win over Italy on Saturday and into the Women's World Cup semifinals for the first time.

Miedema and Van der Gragt scored on two Sherida Spitse free kicks in the space of 10 minutes in the second half to break the stubborn Azzurre resistance.

The second strike extended Netherlands' tournament-high haul of headed goals to five and confirmed its passage into the final four, where it will face either Germany or Sweden.

Clear-cut chances had been rare throughout a match played in stifling heat in Valenciennes, but the Netherlands established control after halftime.

The Netherlands were given an early reprieve when Valentina Bergamaschi spooned a tame finish into Sari van Veenendaal's gloves following Barbara Bonansea's flick-on header.

Bergamaschi scuffed a second scoring chance two minutes later as European champions Netherlands struggled to make use of its possessions.

The first cooling break brought little disruption to the nature of proceedings, Valentina Giacinti firing wide off her left foot in the moments that followed.

Lieke Martens, who overcame a foot problem to start for the Orange, tested Laura Giuliani with a well-taken volley in the 50th minute.

That effort marked the start of a better period for the Netherlands during which Danielle van de Donk hit the crossbar with a classy curling effort from beyond the box, before Spitse arrowed a low free-kick against the outside of the left post.

Spitse instead turned provider as the breakthrough eventually came in the 70th minute.

Spitse delivered an inviting free kick from the left, and Miedema guided a glancing header beyond the outstretched Giuliani, with the sealer from Van der Gragt following in similar circumstances 10 minutes later as Italy's impressive run came to an end.