• The Netherlands will face Spain in Nations League semi-final on Friday

• Teams' last meeting was at last year's Women's World Cup, with Spain prevailing in dramatic last-eight encounter

• Dutch attacker Lineth Beerensteyn speaks exclusively to FIFA

Regardless of whether or not you have won a EURO title and played in a FIFA Women's World Cup™ final, reaching the 100-cap mark for your country is an unforgettable moment in anyone's career.

Sometimes that landmark moment also coincides with a mammoth game, as was the case for Dutch forward Lineth Beerensteyn. Even two months later, the 27-year-old still has a broad smile on her face when asked about the Netherlands' clash with Belgium on the final matchday of the UEFA Women's Nations League group phase, when she celebrated her century of appearances for the OranjeLeeuwinnen.

"That was the most intense game I’ve ever played," she tells FIFA.com as she recalls that epic game 5 December.

Going into the match, the Netherlands and England – who were playing Scotland at the same time – were level on points at top of Group B, with the Dutch ahead on goal difference (+4 to the Lionesses’ +1). Only the first-placed side would qualify for the Nations League finals.

A brace from Beerensteyn put the Dutch 2-0 ahead but, with England rampant against Scotland, the Lionesses appeared to be going through on goal difference when Lucy Bronze's last-gasp header sealed an emphatic 6-0 win. Bronze's effort put Sarina Wiegman's side one goal ahead of the Dutch but, in an amazing finale, two added-time strikes from Damaris Egurrola swung things back decisively in the Netherlands’ favour.

That dramatic win has booked Beerensteyn and Co a Nations League semi-final meeting with Spain on 23 February, the team that beat them in the last eight of the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023™ .

Now up for grabs is not just the chance to win the inaugural UEFA Women's Nations League, but also a place at the Women's Olympic Football Tournament Paris 2024 for the finalists.

FIFA.com discussed all this and more with the Juventus striker, who top-scored in the group stage of the Nations League with six strikes.

Lineth Bereensteyn: It was just so crazy. We knew that we needed to win and score goals. At the end, it was chaos! It was 2-0 for us and we knew that England was, I think, 4-0 or 5-0 in front. We knew we had to score one more goal and we did it. Then, 30 seconds later, we heard that England scored another goal.

Everyone was going crazy and was screaming... I was just lost. I didn't know what was going on. And then the coach was screaming. And then they said there's one minute and a half minutes left. I was just thinking: ‘OK, we need one more attack’. I just felt that the goal would come and at the end it came. When I think about this moment, it’s one of the most incredible things I’ve ever lived. I played my 100th game for the Netherlands in the craziest manner. I will never forget it.

I can't compare a game like this with any other games. We played the World Cup final, but it wasn't as crazy as against Belgium. It was a one-of-a-kind game, and I don't know if there will ever be another game like this. I hope not actually because that's not good for my heart!

I'm a player who's quite fast. I'm a striker, but I can play as a winger, on the left, on the right or in the centre and that makes me really unpredictable. Defenders don't know what to expect from me because I can do things other players can't do. I'm a player who plays on instinct. If you give me freedom, then I'm on my best level, with my speed, my skills, my scoring qualities.

Scoring goals may look easy to you, but it isn't actually. I'm working hard every day to be at that level. Sometimes you can try whatever you want and it's not going in. And sometimes it looks a bit easier. I just keep believing and working.

It’s hard to think about that game again as it could’ve been completely different. But we also learned a lot from that. We know what we have to do better next time, and we’ve shown it in the Nations League. As for Spain, I did watch the final, it was a really intense and exciting game. Spain was clearly better and they deserved to win the World Cup.

But after the tournament, I think that they didn't really show the qualities they showed tat at the World Cup. For example, they lost against Italy [in the Nations League], against my [Juventus] team-mates. I never expected that. That shows us that there's a chance for us to win that game. It's going to be tough, but I believe in our qualities as a team.

It would mean a lot. As an athlete, you want to win all the trophies you can. It would be big to win this one because it's the first Nations League ever in women's football. We know we are capable of winning this trophy, although it's not going be easy. But I have the belief that we can win this Nations League and go to the Olympics.

It was our first Olympics ever and it was not the Olympics we wished to play because it was during COVID. But the experience from that tournament was nice, something we will carry forever. However, we want to do it all over again. We really want to go to Paris 2024. We want to feel the real Olympic spirit, the real feeling of an Olympic tournament and the real experience.

(She pauses) That's a good one. That's a difficult one as well. I played against a lot of really good players and… It's hard. But for me, playing against Aitana Bonmati at the World Cup, I knew she would be the Player of the Tournament. She is an amazing player with a lot of qualities but also with a big heart. That's what I like. She's not only a good player on the pitch, but she's also a sweetheart off it. That says a lot about her, and I respect that a lot.

It's a big part of my life. Unfortunately, a year and a half ago, I lost my mom. It's still, of course, really hard for me. At the time, my whole world fell apart. That changed me as a person because an important person in my life was gone. That was something I never expected at a young age. On the pitch, I left it on one side of my mind because when playing, I'm not thinking about anything. I'm just playing football. And I'm doing the thing I love. But outside the pitch it was really hard to deal with something like that. But I know I can count of my family and friends, who always support me no matter where I am.