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England and the Netherlands face off Wednesday in the Euro 2024 semifinals, with the winner advancing to Sunday’s final against Spain.
The pre-tournament favorite, England has only scored five goals in five matches, needing late equalizers to force extra time in eventual knockout stage wins over Slovakia and Switzerland. The Netherlands beat Romania in the Round of 16 (3-0) and Turkey (2-1) in the quarterfinal to set up the showdown vs. England.
“We’re here for a reason, Holland are here for a reason and may the best team win,” England midfielder Declan Rice said.
England has never won the Euros, finishing runner-up in 2020, while the Netherlands won the tournament back in 1988.
Follow along for live updates from Wednesday’s match in Dortmund:
Wednesday’s England vs. Netherlands match will air on FOX and can be streamed via FoxSports.com or Fubo.
Defender Marc Guehi returns for England after missing the quarterfinal due to suspension and replaces Ezri Konsa.
England: Jordan Pickford; Kyle Walker, Marc Guehi, John Stones, Kieran Trippier; Declan Rice, Kobbie Mainoo, Bukayo Saka; Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, Harry Kane (c)
Netherlands: Bart Verbruggen; Denzel Dumfries, Virgil van Dijk (c), Stefan de Vrij, Nathan Ake; Tijjani Reijnders, Jerdy Schouten, Xavi Simons; Donyell Malen, Cody Gakpo, Memphis Depay
Regular time result:
- Netherlands to win: +200
- England to win: +170
- Draw: +180
To advance
- Netherlands: +100
- England: -125
Jim Reineking: Netherlands 2, England 1 – When will England’s inevitable choke in a major international tournament happen? It had to sweat out wins against Slovakia in the Round of 16 (two very late goals to win) and Switzerland in the quarterfinals (in a penalty shootout). Well, England’s luck will run out Wednesday against the Netherlands. Led by Golden Boot candidate Cody Gakpo, the Netherlands has displayed a more potent offense than England so far (nine goals vs. five for the Three Lions) and that will be the difference in reaching Sunday’s final vs. Spain.
Jesse Yomtov: England 1, Netherlands 1 (ENG wins in penalties) – Say what you will about England’s crawl to the semifinals, but the team showed incredible resolve in its two knockout round wins to grab late equalizers and force extra time against Slovakia and Switzerland. This game should be more open than some of England’s other contests in this tournament and the Three Lions can be expected to look more dangerous in attack.
Jude Bellingham has history with semifinal referee
German referee Felix Zwayer has been appointed to officiate the Euro 2024 semifinal between England and the Netherlands in Dortmund, and is an official with whom Jude Bellingham has previously clashed with in the same stadium.
In 2021, when Bellingham was at Borussia Dortmund, the England midfielder received a fine of 40,000 euros for comments he made regarding Zwayer following his side’s 3-2 defeat by Bayern Munich.
“You can look at a lot of the decisions in the game. You give a referee, that has match-fixed before, the biggest game in Germany. What do you expect?” Bellingham said at the time.
His comments referenced a period in Zwayer’s career which he would have preferred to put behind him.
In 2005, referee Robert Hoyzer was sentenced to two years and five months in prison for his role in a massive match-fixing scandal which rocked German football, and although Zwayer was one of those who reported his suspicions, he too was punished.
Zwayer was given a six-month ban by the German Football Federation (DFB) for accepting 300 euros from Hoyzer for agreeing to make incorrect decisions during a game while he was an assistant referee.
He took a short break after Bellingham’s comments, but since then has refereed the 2023 Nations League final and at Euro 2024 Zwayer has taken charge of three games before the semi-final.
– Reuters
England has never won the European championships. The country’s best finish was in 2021 as the runner-up, losing to Italy in penalty kicks.
England’s Declan Rice: ‘May the best team win’
Declan Rice is taking England’s Euro 2024 semi-final against the Netherlands in his stride and believes they have the momentum to beat the Dutch and win their first-ever European Championship.
“It’s business as usual … I don’t put too much pressure on myself, I don’t think about it too much,” Rice told England’s Lions’ Den program..
“We’re here for a reason, Holland are here for a reason and may the best team win. It’s a game of football, we feel like we’ve got a really good bit of momentum on our side,” Rice added.
The statistics underline Rice’s contribution for England, covering more distance in the tournament than any other player at 63.9km (39.7 miles) over five matches, with the fourth most tackles and balls recovered.
– Reuters
Bukayo Saka, England stayed loose with golf outing
Bukayo Saka won plaudits for striking the ball so sweetly in England’s quarter-final win over Switzerland and did it again on his golf debut at the weekend even if his celebrations were spoiled by an embarrassing tumble over the golf bag.
Beginner’s luck it may have been but Saka, who equalized against the Swiss and converted his penalty in the 5-3 shootout win, shone when England were treated to some golf on their day off on Sunday.
“Oh my goodness – best shot of my life,” Saka said after his first effort.
He struck the ball well on his next attempt too and while enjoying generous applause he stumbled comically, prompting laughter and ridicule from teammates. The distraction could be just what England need ahead of their semi-final with Netherlands on Wednesday, when they aim to reach their second successive Euros final.
– Reuters
England players back manager Gareth Southgate
Gareth Southgate is exactly what England need as a leader and he has instilled a sense of togetherness in a team who have grown stronger during Euro 2024 and have never been more motivated, defender Luke Shaw said on Monday.
“He really took us to the next level, no manager has really been as successful as him as what he’s been doing recently,” Shaw told a press conference.
– Reuters
Netherlands faced travel disruption getting to Dortmund
Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman shrugged off the travel disruption faced by his squad on Tuesday and said the team were well rested ahead of Wednesday’s European Championship semi-final against England.
The Dutch were forced to abandon their plans to travel to Dortmund by train from their base at Wolfsburg, after the service was canceled due to a blockage on the route, the Dutch Football Association said.
Instead, they flew to Dortmund, arriving at their hotel some four hours later than planned.
“It was not a problem, we had a good rest this afternoon, we were on the plane for just 30 minutes, arrived at our hotel and we can have a good rest tonight,” Koeman said in an interview with UEFA after his scheduled pre-match press conference had to be canceled because of the travel delay.
– Reuters
Where is the Euro 2024 final?
The final for Euro 2024 will be played at the Olympiastadion in Berlin on Sunday, July 14. The venue previously hosted the 2006 World Cup final (Italy defeated France) and 2015 UEFA Champions League final.
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