Gareth Southgate has made a strategic change to his starting XI for England's European Championship semifinal against Netherlands. Marc Guéhi returns at centre-back, replacing Ezri Konsa who moves to the bench. Guéhi missed the quarterfinal due to suspension after accumulating two yellow cards earlier in the tournament.
Speculation arose that Luke Shaw might secure a starting spot after his impactful performance off the bench in the previous match. England has struggled with attacking threats from the left, with Kieran Trippier, a natural right-back, often deployed on the left side of defense. Despite this, Southgate opted not to include Shaw in the starting lineup, citing his limited playing time since February.
Captain Harry Kane's form had also been under scrutiny, but Southgate has shown confidence in the prolific striker, England's all-time leading goalscorer.
On the Netherlands side, manager Ronald Koeman made a single change, with Donyell Malen taking Steven Bergwijn's place on the right wing.
The winner of this semifinal will advance to face Spain in the Euro 2024 final, following Spain's 2-1 victory over France in the other semifinal.
England's lineup: Bart Verbruggen; Denzel Dumfries, Stefan De Vrij, Virgil van Dijk, Nathan Aké; Tijjani Reijnders, Jerdy Schouten; Donyell Malen, Xavi Simons, Cody Gakpo; Memphis Depay.
Substitutes: Jordan Pickford, Kyle Walker, John Stones, Marc Guéhi, Bukayo Saka, Kobbie Mainoo, Declan Rice, Kieran Trippier, Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane (c).
