After reaching just one semi-final in the first 56 years of the European Championships, England are potentially one game away from reaching back-to-back continental finals.
The Netherlands stand in the way of a date against Spain or France in the Euro 2024 final in Berlin’s Olympiastadion on Sunday night.
✅ Semi-final confirmed: Netherlands vs England 🇳🇱🏴#EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/5pkADICuPz
— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) July 6, 2024
Current boss Ronald Koeman starred as the Netherlands won Euro 88 – which was also held in Germany – and scored the equaliser as Oranje came from behind to beat the host nation 2-1 in the semi-final. It was the only success in their five previous Euro semi-finals.
The omens are less good on the English side as Gareth Southgate’s most telling contribution to the semi-final of Euro 96 was missing a penalty in England’s semi-final shootout defeat to Germany.
The sides will do battle in Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion on Wednesday at 8pm BST with England seeking to win a semi-final at a major tournament on foreign soil for the first time.
Let’s take a closer look at five key battles which we feel could decide the last-four match, shall we?
🫵😄#EURO2024 | #ENGSUI pic.twitter.com/A00gngCzIJ
— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) July 6, 2024
📰 Table Of Contents
Rice v Simons
This looks like it could be the key match-up in the middle of the park.
Frenkie De Jong was a big miss for the Netherlands after failing to recover from an ankle injury sustained in March but his play-making responsibility for the Dutch has fallen to 21-year-old Xavi Simons, playing slightly advanced of Jerdy Schouten and AC Milan’s Tijani Reijnders, who has been particularly impressive so far in the Oranje campaign.
Simons has assisted three goals already, putting him level with Spain starlet Lamine Yamal at the top of the tournament standings, and his ability to drift into space and drive forward on the counter attack mean Rice is going to need to keep his eyes on him.
Rice has covered more ground than any other player at Euro 2024, clocking an eye-watering 39.8 miles across England’s five games so far.
This has been helped of course by the fact that he has played extra-time in his last two matches, whereas the Dutch players are relatively fresh having seen-off Romania in the Round of 16 and then Turkey in the last-eight in 90 minutes.
England fans will hope he’s made the most of his three-day recovery period and is ready to go again in Dortmund, a stadium where Simons inspired Leipzig to a 3-2 win in the Bundesliga last December, picking up an assist.
The Yellow Wall will become orange for the night, and Simons will hope for a repeat outcome.
Xavi Simons 💫#EURO2024 | #NEDTUR pic.twitter.com/zGQ5G4PCrO
— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) July 6, 2024
Gakpo v Walker
The Netherlands might not play the attractive total football of their predecessors, but they have made their functional style work for them.
Only Spain and Germany have scored more than their nine goals in the tournament so far – by contrast England have scored just five.
Cody Gakpo is the favourite to land the Golden Boot at the competition – he is joint top of the standings with three goals but temporarily thought he had four before the Dutch winner against Turkey went down as an own-goal by Mert Muldur.
Just as he did in his successful spell at PSV, Gakpo has enjoyed service from the right flank from marauding full-back Denzel Dumfries.
The Liverpool forward operates from the left for the Dutch which means the responsibility for looking after him falls to Kyle Walker.
For whatever reason, off-field distraction, different system, you name it, Walker has failed to hit the heights he did with Man City in the five games England have played so far. There have been highly unusual lapses in concentration which have seen him gift possession to the opposition and lose his man more than once. England fans will hope this is back to the norm for Walker as anything less than that could prove problematic against in-form Gakpo.
Saka’s sensational strike is the goal of the quarter-finals 😮💨👏#EUROGOTT | @AlipayPlus pic.twitter.com/h5N26YvcQh
— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) July 9, 2024
Ake v Saka
Man City and Arsenal’s Premier League rivalry resumes on the biggest stage.
While he tends to operate in the left-sided centre-back role for Pep Guardiola, Nathan Ake is used as a left-back by Ronald Koeman, which should put him in direct opposition to… Bukayo Saka.
For the Netherlands Ake tends to sit back at left-back and slot in when Denzel Dumfries on the opposite flank makes his trademark roams up the field from right-back.
This might work to the Netherland’s advantage, given Saka’s obvious danger, meaning Ake is less likely to be caught out of position. However it does raise the possibility of an overload on the right with Saka and Ake’s Man City teammate Kyle Walker bombing on.
Saka missed the home game against Man City in the league this year and was subbed early in the return at the Etihad, which ended goalless. England fans will be hoping he finds more joy in Dortmund.
Memphis v Stones
The absence of Frenkie De Jong has also hurt Memphis Depay. De Jong was the one who pulled the strings in most of the Dutch attacks and threaded passes through the deep lying defences which have been a feature of at this tournament.
Depay has not been particularly effective leading the line as a central striker, scoring only once in the 3-2 defeat to Austria, and there is a growing clamour for Wout Weghorst to be given the nod through the middle from the start, having scored the winner in the opening group game against Poland and then changing the game after coming off the bench in the quarter-final against Turkey.
If that happens then expect Memphis to slide right. If it does not then he will have to try to find his way past John Stones, his old cross-Manchester rival.
Stones did make a rare costly slip which allowed Switzerland to pinch an opener in the last round, but he will know the dangers of Depay only too well and would possibly prefer facing him than the battering ram which is another former Man United man, Weghorst.
Virgil 🧡#EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/JBrka0pKiu
— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) July 8, 2024
Kane v Van Dijk
On paper, we’re saving the best for last. But if we are honest, these two have failed to hit the heights they are capable of so far in Germany this summer. Is this the match in which they both spring to life?
Van Dijk’s partnership with Stefan De Vrij in the heart of defence is so enduring that Micky van de Ven of Tottenham and Man United target Matthijs de Ligt can’t get in the team.
Defence is definitely the Dutch’s strongest area these days, but Van Dijk in particular has shown signs of being fallible, particularly in the 3-2 group stage defeat to Austria and spells of the Turkey quarter-final.
The thought of a country leaving out their captain and record goalscorer in a semi-final is so far-fetched it’s almost laughable, however there is a huge section of the England faithful who think Harry Kane should be dropped for this last-four tie.
Whether he is carrying a lingering injury, or whether a season in Germany has dulled the sharpness and fitness built up over a decade in the Premier League, we may never know, but although he has scored a couple of handy goals, he has contributed very little across the five games and, if anything, has made things harder for his teammates by dropping deep and leaving no focal point up top.
Ivan Toney caught the eye in cameos against Slovakia and Switzerland but, much like with Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal, there is simply no way Kane won’t be lining up in Dortmund before kick-off.
