That’s it for tonight’s blog. I’ll leave you with Sophie Downey’s match report from Rotherham. Goodnight!
Updated
The semi-final line-up
- England v Sweden (Bramall Lane)
- France v Germany (Stadium MK)
France will play Germany in Milton Keynes on Wednesday after a tortuous but fully deserved victory over the reigning champions. They missed umpteen chances before Eve Perisset slammed a penalty past the heroic Dutch keeper Daphne Van Domselaar. She and Stefanie Van der Gragt, who made three goalline clearances, did everything they could, but France were much the better team and it would have been a travesty had they not gone through.
The Dutch players look devastated. The defence of their title will ultimately go down as a disappointment. Even with Vivianne Miedema back in the team, their attack just couldn’t get going.
Updated
Full time: France 1-0 Netherlands
France have finally reached their first European Championship semi-final!
Updated
120+2 min That should be it. Pelova’s free-kick is headed away by the inevitable Renard. The backpedalling Miedema takes the ball on the chest and hits a volley that deflects through to the keeper.
120+1 min Sarr fouls Pelova on the right wing, a silly tackle that gives the Netherlands one last chance. The keeper is forward...
120 min The ball ricochets around the France area before Bacha hacks it away. Two added minutes.
119 min Saying which, Brugts’ cross isn’t too far away from the makeshift centre forward Van der Gragt.
118 min France are seeing the game out very comfortably. Weird things happen in football but a Netherlands equaliser would be an affront to the run of play.
117 min Renard is down, having fallen awkwardly after winning a header. I think she’s okay.
115 min Van der Gragt is now playing up front. That means more gaps at the other end, and Mateo stabs wide from 15 yards after good play by Sarr. Yet another decent chance for France.
115 min Another change for the Netherlands: Damaris Egurrola replaces the limping Lynn Wilms.
114 min France play on even though Wilms is down in the Netherlands area. Eventually Torrent wallops over the bar from a tight angle.
111 min Lots of huffing and puffing from the Netherlands, but they have struggled all night to inconvenience Peyraud-Magnin in the French goal.
108 min This is a better chance for Sarr, who runs away from the weary Van der Gragt in the inside-left channel but then shoots tamely into the side netting.
107 min Leuchter immediately gets behind the defence on the left and pulls the ball back towards Pelova, whose first-time shot is well blocked. At the other end, Sarr drags a low shot through the legs of Van der Gragt and just wide of the far post.
106 min I think I missed a double Netherlands substitution as well - Romee Leuchter and Aniek Nouwen for Casparij and Spitse.
Updated
106 min Peep peep! The Netherlands begin the second period of extra time.
France substitutions Ella Palis, Marion Torrent and Ouleymata Sarr are on for Eve Perisset, Kadidiatou Diani and Sandie Toletti.
Half time in extra time: France 1-0 Netherlands
France are 15 minutes away from their first European Championship semi-final thanks to Eve Perisset’s penalty. It’s a richly deserved lead. The Dutch have defended heroically, Van Domselaar and Van der Gragt in particular, but France have been much the better team.
105+2 min Cascarino beats Casparij again and stands up a lovely cross that just evades Toletti. One of the Dutch defenders, Wilms I think, did very well to ensure Toletti couldn’t get a clear header.
105+1 min Bacha goes on another barnstorming run into the area, only to slice wide of the near post with her weaker right foot.
105 min Mateo plays a give and go with Diani and drives a daisycutter that is comfortably saved to her right by Van Domselaar.
The two France substitutes, Bacha and Mateo, have made a big impact.
104 min Mateo shoots well wide from the edge of the D.
103 min A frustrated Miedema is booked for a studs-up tackle on Bacha.
GOAL! France 1-0 Netherlands (Perisset 102 pen)
Eve Perisset scores! The heroic Van Domselaar got a hand on it, diving to her right, but it was fiercely struck and she couldn’t keep it out.
Updated
101 min: Penalty to France! It’s the correct decision. Janssen was certainly going for the ball but she didn’t get there. Janssen is booked, so she’ll miss the semi-final one way or another.
Updated
100 min The referee is going to the monitor...
98 min: VAR check for a France penalty! Mateo stabs a delicious pass around Janssen to put Diani through on goal. She’s about to shoot when Janssen lunges to make a desperate tackle, and Diani goes down in a heap.
No penalty is given, but replays show Janssen didn’t get the ball. I think this will be overturned.
Updated
97 min At the other end, the increasingly lively Brugts curls over from the edge of the D.
96 min A blind pass from Miedema goes straight to Bacha, who surges at a backpedalling defence and drives over from 20 yards. Good effort.
94 min Brugts’ deep cross from the left is headed back by Pelova towards Miedema, whose volley is superbly blocked by Renard
93 min Here’s that dramatic flying save from Van Domselaar in injury time.
ALMOST! France are denied a last-gasp winner. 😲
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 23, 2022
Daphne van Domselaar ensures an extra 30 minutes for the Dutch to try and overcome France.
Wendie Renard can't believe it!
📲 💻 📺 Live on @BBCOne, @BBCiPlayer, @BBCSounds & @BBCSport app ⤵️#BBCEuros #BBCFootball
Updated
92 min The last time these two met in this tournament, 13 years ago, the Netherlands won on penalties in the quarter-finals after a 0-0 draw.
91 min Peep peep! France begin the first period of extra time.
Full time: France 0-0 Netherlands
It’s going to extra time. France have had enough chance to win a quarter-final, a semi-final and a final, but they haven’t taken any of them.
Updated
90+4 min: Great save from Van Domselaar! The corner is floated deep towards Renard, who steers a curling a header back across goal. Van Domselaar flies to her left to paw it this far wide of the post.
Updated
90+3 min: Good save from Van Domselaar! Cascarino slows down to draw Casparij towards her, then scurries down the line and thrashes a shot from a tight angle that is pushed round the near post.
90 min Three added minutes.
89 min The Netherlands win the ball in a dangerous area, but Miedema can’t get away from Mbock Bathy on the edge of the area. Fine defending.
88 min To compound Geyoro’s misery, that’s her last touch of the game. Clara Mateo replaces her.
87 min: What a chance for Geyoro! Bacha goes on a carpe diem slalom across the field before finding Cascarino on the right. Her brilliant deep cross takes Van Domselaar out of the game, but the leaping Geyoro thumps a header wide from four yards! Maybe the cross was slightly behind her; that’s the only reason she might have missed.
Updated
86 min “Why,” pleads Matt Dony, “aren’t France fans serenading Diani to the tune of Deanna?”
85 min An extended spell of possession for the Netherlands ends with a wasteful ball from the back.
83 min France have been nowhere near as dominant since the break. If they do lose yet another quarter-final, those first-half chances will haunt them for a long while.
80 min Miedema produces her best touch of the match, a volleyed flick infield to Pelova, but she runs into trouble.
Updated
79 min It’s really tense now, with both teams conscious of the potential consequences if they go behind at such a late stage.
77 min Jackie Groenen is down with cramp, which allows the players to take a breather.
76 min It’s a game of set pieces at the moment. Bacha’s outswinging free-kick from the left is headed well wide by Renard, who mistimed her jump and couldn’t quite get over the ball.
75 min Bacha’s driven corner is taken off Renard’s head by Miedema, a vital bit of defending.
73 min Bacha hits a sudden shot from 25 yards that wobbles awkwardly but is comfortably saved by Van Domselaar.
73 min Brugts has gone to the left wing, with Pelova moving across to the right.
72 min Another change for the Netherlands: the teenager Esmee Brugts replaces the subdued Danielle van de Donk.
72 min Van der Gragt is booked for stopping Peyraud-Magnin from launching a counter-attack.
69 min Bacha’s corner is straight into the hands of Van Domselaar.
69 min After a slow start to the second half, France are starting to dominate again. Cascarino gets away from Casparij, who recovers well to concede a corner.
Updated
68 min It’s still 0-0!
66 min: Chance for France! The resulting corner is headed towards goal by Renard and pushed away by Van Domselaar, diving a long way to her right. That’s a really good save.
Updated
65 min Bacha’s rising drive is pushed over by Van Domselaar, a comfortable save. Bacha has been terrific since coming on as substitute.
64 min: A hat-trick of goalline clearances for Stefanine Van der Gragt! Bacha’s deep corner is headed back across goal by Renard, and Van der Gragt heads clear inside her own six-yard box. The header might not have been going in, but Mbock Bathy was behind her waiting to score.
63 min Bacha arrows a sharp cross into Diani on the edge of the area. She briefly wriggles away from Van der Gragt, who recovers well to block the shot.
62 min A change for France: Selma Bacha is on for Melvine Malard. Bacha has gone to the left wing, Cascarino to the right and Diani up front.
59 min That was the Netherlands’ first shot on target in the match, though Peyraurd-Magnin did save from Karchaoui’s errant header in the first half.
58 min This is a much more even second half. Spitse drills another corner beyond the far post, where Van der Gragt meets it with a strong downward header. Peyraud-Magnin stoops to make a comfortable save.
56 min: Chance for Miedema! Spitse curls the corner to the far post, where Miedema loses Karchaoui but then slices an admittedly awkward volley over the bar from six yards. The ball came at a difficult height but it was still the Netherlands’ best chance so far.
Updated
56 min Pelova plays a nice pass to the underlapping Casparij, forcing Mbocy Bathy to slide in and concede a corner. The left-back Casparij has looked good going forward.
54 min The two France wingers, Cascarino and Diani, have been in scintillaing form tonight.
51 min Cascarino storms past Wilms on the left and lifts a cross to the far post, where the onrushing Geyoro’s shot is excellently blocked by Casparij.
50 min It’s been a better start to the second half from the Netherlands. Which is to say that Van der Gragt hasn’t cleared off the line yet.
47 min After a promising break, Pelova cuts inside from the left and has a shot blocked by Mbock Bathy.
46 min Danielle van de Donk has moved to the right wing to accommodate Roord in midfield.
46 min The Netherlands begin the second half, and they’ve made a change: Jill Roord, who was critical of the manager Mark Parsons in the week, is on for Lineth Beerensteyn.
“Your job, Rob, should you wish to accept it, is to explain why France aren’t four nil up,” says Charles Antaki.
I’ve given this some thought, and I suppose I would say Stefanie van der Gragt RON (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈsteːfaːni vɑn dər ˈɣrɑxt]; born 16 August 1992) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a defender for AFC Ajax[2] and the Netherlands national team. She has represented her country at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup[3] and 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup.[4]
“If France can’t get their mallards in a row soon,” says Justin Kavanagh, “all these misses could come home to roost and leave them with egg on their faces. I’ll get the duck out of here now.”
Half-time reading
Half time: France 0-0 Netherlands
It’s 0-0. I have not a solitary idea how, but it’s 0-0. France have been completely dominant and could easily be four up. Sandie Toletti missed a sitter, Delphine Cascarino hit the post and Stefanie Van der Gragt made two spectacular goalline clearances to deny Melvine Malard and Grace Geyoro.
Updated
42 min Janssen makes a desperate sliding challenge to beat Malard to Geyoro’s low cross. The Netherlands are defending heroically, but they surely can’t keep this up for 120 minutes.
41 min: Off the line again by Van der Gragt! Incredible stuff. Renard, who was still up following a corner, headed a long cross back across goal towards Geyoro. She slammed a half-volley from close range that was again blocked by Van der Gragt.
France appealed unsuccessully for a penalty. It did hit Van der Gragt’s arm, but she was holding it to her chest so it wasn’t handball.
Renard could have gone for goal herself, though she seemed to have put it on a plate for Geyoro. Van der Gragt had other ideas.
Updated
41 min One thing I’ll say for the Netherlands: their kit is magnificent. No side in world football produces as many great kits.
Updated
40 min Groenen is again lucky to avoid a yellow card, this time for a frustrated hack at Diani.
37 min: Off the line by Van der Gragt! This goalless dominance from France is getting silly. That was a superb move, which started with Bilbault flipping a pass out to Perisset on the right. She played in the underlapping Diani, whose sharp cutback took the keeper out of the game and found Malard at the far post. Malard stretched to control the ball, which was slightly behind her, and cracked a shot on the turn that was kneed off the line by Van der Gragt. Tremendous defending.
A big let off for the Netherlands! 😲
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 23, 2022
Stefanie van der Gragt denies Melvine Malard on the line!
📲 💻 📺 Live on @BBCOne, @BBCiPlayer, @BBCSounds & @BBCSport app ⤵️#BBCEuros #BBCFootball
Updated
35 min Miedema has been very quiet, though that’s more a reflection of the balance of play than any fitness issues.
34 min The good news for the Netherlands is that it’s still 0-0.
31 min The impressive Diani loses Spitse in midfield with a swaggering roulette. France are well on top here.
28 min “Glad to see Malard rewarded with a place in the starting XI,” says Matt Dony. “Unfortunately, I’ve run out of duck jokes.”
Duck’s off!
Duck's off, sorry. @FAWLTYTOWERS_ #fawltytowers pic.twitter.com/lVLPhQDyQM
— John Cleese (@JohnCleese) April 3, 2021
Updated
27 min: Cascarino hits the post! How are France not ahead? A corner from the right is half cleared and loops towards Cascarino, 25 yards out. She cuts across a volley that skims along the turf and hits the inside of the post! Van Domselaar saw it late and barely moved.
24 min A loose square pass from van de Donk goes straight to Geyoro on the halfway line. She moves forward and plays the ball left to Malard, whose shot on the turn goes well wide of the near post. It was a good run from Malard, whose movement is outstanding, but she lost her bearings slightly before she took the shot.
23 min: Great chance for Toletti! Diani’s deep cross isn’t cleared properly by the unsighted Wilms and rolls invitingly towards Toletti. She runs onto the ball, 12 yards from goal, but spanks a wild shot over the bar. That was the best chance of the match.
Updated
22 min “How likely is a Netherlands win today?” says Brendan Large. “As an England fan (but not a great watcher of the women’s game just yet) I see France as a big threat and would rather they went home now.”
It feels about 60/40 in France’s favour. To be honest, and why wouldn’t I be, whoever England play from here will be a big threat – the five remaining teams are all potential winners.
Updated
21 min Cascarino cuts inside from the left, uses the overlapping Karchaoui by not using her and smacks a rising drive that is pawed away by Van Domselaar. She’s already made a handful of good saves.
20 min Cascarino’s deflected cross is headed behind for another corner by Van der Gragt. Toletti floats it deep towards Renard, who flicks a header wide under pressure. Again, a half chance at best.
19 min This is a really good spell for France. Spitse is forced to concede another corner after a game of head tennis in the Dutch penalty area.
17 min A low cross from the right is shanked towards her own goal by Janssen, and Van Domselaar flies to her right to palm the ball away. That’s a pretty good save, especially as she wouldn’t have been expecting it. Moments later, Bilbault hits a sweet shot from 25 yards that is well held to her left by Van Domselaar.
Updated
15 min The left-back Casparij is caught upfield, which allows Diani to charge into space when France break. She runs 50 yards, to the edge of the area, before driving a low shot that is too close to Van Domselaar.
Updated
14 min The corner is swung to the far post, where Renard gets away from Groenen but heads wide from 12 yards. A half chance at best.
13 min The resulting free-kick is curled deep by Toletti and headed behind by Miedema. France’s first corner...
13 min Groenen is lucky to avoid a yellow card for a cynical tackle on Karchaoui.
12 min For the first time in the tournament, France haven’t scored in the first ten minutes.
10 min The corner is a mess and almost goes out for a throw-in.
9 min The Netherlands are coming into the game. Miedema tees up Spitse for a long-range drive that hits a defender and spins behind for a corner.
8 min Spitse flips Toletti up in the air, a challenge that looked worse live than on the replays. No yellow card.
5 min Netherlands have their first extended spell of possession. Casparij turns Perisset very neatly on the left and curls a bouncing cross towards the far post, where Karchaoui inadvertently heads the ball towards her own goal. Peyraud-Magnin leaps to make a comfortable save.
Updated
3 min France have made a fast, dominant start, with the Netherlands barely crossing the halfway in the first few minutes.
2 min “Ah!” says Charles Antaki. “The director has found, early doors, the fan with the thing on her head which is either a curling stone or a round of cheese. The latter is probably more likely, given that she’s a Netherlands fan, but presumably there is some curling done on canals in the winter?”
You’re asking me? I am an expert in very few things, and canal curling is emphatically not one of them.
1 min A half chance for France in the first minute. Diani threads a brilliant pass into Geyoro in the area, but Janssen ensures she can’t get a clean shot at goal and the ball dribbles through to Van Domselaar.
Updated
1 min Peep peep! France kick off from left to right as we watch. This could be spectacular.
Here come the players. It’s a pleasant night in Rotherham, around 21C, and the Dutch end is the usual sea of orange.
“Hi Rob,” says Peter Oh. “I’m sure the orange-clad masses will help the Dutch team feel like they’re playing in Rotterdam and not in Rotherham.”
The players who will miss the semi-final if they are booked tonight
France Sakina Karchaoui
Netherlands Lineth Beerensteyn, Dominique Janssen, Jill Roord, Damaris Egurrola
💙 OR 🧡
— UEFA Women's EURO 2022 (@WEURO2022) July 23, 2022
Who are you supporting? 👊#WEURO2022 | #FRA | #NED pic.twitter.com/hqewGjBcnH
Louise Taylor’s preview
Team news: Miedema starts
Vivianne Miedema returns for the Netherlands, one of three changes from their win over Switzerland. Kerstin Casparij and Victoria Pelova also come in, with Aniek Nouwen, Jill Roord and the injured Lieke Martens missing out. The inclusion of Casparij means Dominique Janssen will move across to centre-back.
Corinne Diacre, who rested a number of France players against Iceland, returns to her strongest XI. There are two changes from the side that beat Belgium in their second game: Melvine Malard for the injured Marie-Antoinette Katoto up front and Sandie Toletti for Clara Mateo in midfield.
France (4-3-3) Peyraud-Magnin; Perisset, Mbock Bathy, Renard, Karchaoui; Toletti, Bilbault, Geyoro; Diani, Malard, Cascarino.
Substitutes: Chavas, Lerond, Palis, Torrent, Tounkara, Mateo, Bacha, Dali, Baltimore, Sarr, Cissoko.
Netherlands (4-3-3) Van Domselaar; Wilms, Van der Gragt, Janssen, Casparij; Groenen, van de Donk, Spitse; Beerensteyn, Miedema, Pelova.
Substitutes: Weimar, Lorsheyd, Nouwen, van Dongen, Roord, R Jansen, Dijkstra, Leuchter, Olislagers, Egurrola, Brugts.
Updated
Preamble
Now this is a quarter-final: France and the Netherlands, third and fourth in the world rankings, playing for the right to face Germany in the last four. In simplistic terms, it’s the underachievers against the champions. And the underachievers are favourites.
France - and even though I’m typing this I still don’t entirely believe it - have never reached the semi-finals of the European Championship. The Netherlands have no such simian backpack: they won the competition in memorable style in 2017.
The Netherlands’ defence of their title has been both perfectly fine and slightly underwhelming. They beat Portugal and Switzerland and drew with Sweden, which is about par, but they had to work harder than expected for those two wins. “We’re still waiting,” says their manager Mark Parsons, “for that performance where we all say we got to a level that gives us goosebumps.”
There is a caveat - the absence of Vivianne Miedema, who was in Covid isolation for the games against Portugal and Switzerland. She is back in the starting XI tonight. Sadly it’s one in, one out for the Netherlands, as the great Lieke Martens is out of the tournament with a foot problem.
The French are also without one a Paris Saint-Germain star: Marie-Antoinette Katoto, who suffered a serious knee injury in the second group game against Belgium. Melvine Malard deputised excellently in the draw against Iceland and starts tonight, but Katoto is a big loss.
France made a rampant start to the tournament, scoring five in the first half against Italy. Since then they have been a lot quieter - they lost the second half 1-0 to Italy, beat Belgium 2-1 and drew 1-1 with Iceland in what was, for them at least, a dead rubber.
Iceland’s 102nd-minute equaliser, so late it was almost posthumous, ended France’s run of 16 consecutive wins. That sequence included a 3-1 victories over the Netherlands at the Tournoi de France in February. But it’s hard to know how much we should read into that, especially as two of the goals were scored by - yep - Marie-Antoinette Katoto.
The France manager Corinne Diacre says the Netherlands are probably favourites tonight, though I’d disagree with that. Not to her face. Not cos I’m scared of her.
Objectively, France are slight favourites to go through. But we all know that, in a heavyweight clash like this, anything is possible.
Kick off 8pm.
