Euro 2024: Netherlands v England

Match Preview

England will look to secure a place in their second successive European Championship final when they take on the Netherlands in Dortmund.

For all the criticism – the bulk of it justified – to have been thrown Gareth Southgate’s way, England have navigated a way to a third semi-final in their last four major tournaments. But, while the performance against Switzerland on Saturday was marginally better than those that came before it, the Three Lions still had to rely on a penalty shoot-out to advance.

There remains question marks around the formation, although Southgate is likely to stick with the 3-4-3 he deployed against the Swiss, and the effectiveness of captain Harry Kane, who again looked laboured at the weekend.

Jordan Pickford was the England hero, saving from Manuel Akanji in the shoot-out and the Everton goalkeeper was pleased to have done his bit.

“We had to go into the trenches again, but that’s what tournament football is about: no game is easy. It was a big relief,” he said, before adding on the Dutch. “They’ve got their own type of personality, their own type of personnel, and they play the way they play and that won’t change. How they play doesn’t affect how we play, it’s about us stepping up to that level and being the best on the night.”

The Netherlands edged out Turkey 2-1 to make the last four and Ronald Koeman’s side have a more settled look than England.

Cody Gakpo is the joint leading scorer in the tournament and he is relishing the opportunity to reach the final.

The Liverpool forward said: “This has been a great tournament for us so far. I feel we’ve already taken a step forward compared to the last one [2022 FIFA World Cup]. And I’m happy to be part of that.

“We’re in the semi-finals now and obviously that’s not the end of the tournament. Every team in the semi-finals just wants to reach the final. That goes for us too. So that’s our ambition.”

Betting Offers