England’s quest to win Euro 2024 heads to Dortmund on Wednesday night for a semi-final showdown with the Netherlands.
Gareth Southgate’s exploits in Germany have been, in a word, gritty.
After edging nervously through the group stage with two draws and a narrow win, the Three Lions required a 95th-minute Jude Bellingham overhead kick to avoid going out against Slovakia before beating Switzerland on penalties in the quarter-finals.
There have been signs of progress and the level of talent on the pitch is obvious but England fans will not fancy another 90 or 120 minutes of tightrope walking with a place in the final on the line.
It has hardly been plain sailing for the Dutch, either.
Having finished third in their group after losing to Austria, they strolled past Romania in the last-16 but needed to come from behind to get the better of a spirited Turkey team on Saturday night.
Ronald Koeman’s team were hardly fancied to go all the way before the tournament yet are now in their first Euros semi-final for 20 years, as both they and England benefit from being on the ‘kinder’ side of the draw. The question is, who will take the final step to Berlin?
Date, kick-off time and venue
Netherlands vs England is scheduled for an 8pm BST kick-off on Wednesday July 10, 2024.
The match will take place at BVB Stadion Dortmund.
Where to watch Netherlands vs England
TV channel: In the UK, the game will be televised live on ITV1, with coverage beginning at 6.30pm.
Live stream: Fans can also catch the contest live online for free via the ITVX app and website.
Live blog: You can follow all the action on matchday via Standard Sport’s live blog, with expert analysis from reporters Dan Kilpatrick and Malik Ouzia at the ground.
Netherlands vs England team news
Koeman has kept faith in the same starting line-up for both of the Netherlands’ knockout games so far, but there are questions over it.
Steven Bergwijn has been anonymous on the right wing and his place is under threat from both Jeremie Frimpong, who typically plays right-back for Bayer Leverkusen, and Donyell Malen, scorer of two goals in the last-16.
Wout Weghorst would be a surprise option up front having been their go-to super-sub for the tournament so far.
The Dutch have set up in a fairly fluid 4-2-3-1 system with Xavi Simons in behind Memphis Depay and Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo has been a major threat on the left flank.
Nathan Ake should continue at left-back ahead of Tottenham’s Micky van de Ven while Joey Veerman will hope to dislodge Tijjani Reijnders or Jerdy Schouten from their low-key midfield line-up.
As for England, questions continue to be asked of Southgate’s plan both when level and when ahead in games.
The much-touted move to a three-man defence before facing Switzerland turned out to hardly be a serious shift from what had gone before but Luke Shaw’s return from injury off the bench suggests he could finally start, providing proper balance on the left side.
Harry Kane is expected to shrug off the cramp which led to his early exit although calls for the captain to be dropped will persist following some quiet displays.
The Three Lions will have Marc Guehi available after his one-game ban and he should start even if Ezri Konsa performed excellently in his absence.
Neither side has any players suspended for the game and yellow cards have now been wiped to ensure no player can miss the final due to two bookings over the course of the tournament.
Netherlands vs England prediction
It is clear that England have more talent and experience in these games. Southgate himself talked that up after the win over Switzerland and it should count for a lot here.
While their defensive work has been stellar, they are simply not putting teams away up the other end and look vulnerable to counter-attacks when they finally do take risks.
But the Dutch are not without their issues, too. A bit slow and ponderous in defence, they’ve also lacked midfield control and a killer touch in attack. On the other hand, they can hurt you with crosses, quick interchanges on the ground and shots from distance.
Logically, you have to expect this to be a tight game that could well go the distance - and hope England’s knowhow and quality pull them through.
England to win on penalties.
Head to head (h2h) history and results
England have only beaten the Oranje once in nine meetings since a 4-1 win at Euro 96. That’s also their only win in major tournaments, alongside a goalless draw at Italia 90 and the Netherlands winning 3-1 at the 1988 Euros.
Netherlands wins: 7
England wins: 6
Draws: 9
Netherlands vs England match odds
Netherlands to qualify: 11/10
England to qualify: 8/11
