Netherlands vs England: Euro 2024 Semi-Final Match Preview

On July 10th, in Dortmund, the Dutch and English teams will compete for a spot in the Euro 2024 final.

We discuss how Southgate's anti-football works for results and highlight the straightforward bracket of the Dutch team, which outclassed its previous opponents.

Predicted Lineups:

Netherlands: Verbruggen; Dumfries, De Vrij, Van Dijk, Aké; Schouten, Reijnders, Simons; Bergwijn, Gakpo, Depay

England: Pickford; Walker, Stones, Konsa, Trippier, Mainoo, Rice, Saka, Bellingham, Foden; Kane

The Dutch starting lineup should not be reshuffled for the match against England as everything is working well, and there is no need to disrupt a well-functioning mechanism.

England has no reason to believe Gareth Southgate will change the structure. Instead of defender Marc Guehi, who was suspended against Slovakia, Ezri Konsa played the entire match against Switzerland, but this was a forced measure. Other than that, Southgate has not made any changes since Kobbie Mainoo replaced Conor Gallagher in midfield.

Netherlands:

The Dutch passed through a tough group in this Euro, and everyone thought they would face disaster at the start of the playoffs, but fate favored the Netherlands, giving them Romania in the Round of 16 and Turkey in the next round.

There were no problems with Edward Iordanescu's team. The Netherlands outperformed the southeastern team in all respects, and the only thing that let them down was converting goal opportunities. Cody Gakpo was excellent in the Round of 16, scoring a goal and providing an assist, but Donyell Malen was praised more for his brace off the bench that secured a confident win over Romania. However, the Borussia Dortmund forward did not play a minute against Turkey, which was both logical and strange. Steven Bergwijn was replaced by Wout Weghorst, whose skills were needed after the break when the Dutch were trailing 0-1.

Turkey did not surprise the Netherlands in the first half. Yes, the Dutch couldn't convert their chances as the shots didn't hit the target, and the episodes were modest when Depay and Gakpo created strikes out of nothing. But the Turks found their goal, and again bravo to Arda Güler, who made an excellent cross to the far post, where Samet Akaydin rushed in to score, forcing the Dutch team to find new ways to work against a smart opponent.

The second half started with the same principles of pressure from the Dutch, and Ronald Koeman even brought on Wout Weghorst to push hard alongside Memphis Depay and try to equalize early, preferably before the final segment of the match. Nothing was working for the Dutch, and Turkey could have scored a second goal when Güler hit the post from a free-kick, or when Kenan Yıldız's long shot was somehow saved by the Dutch goalkeeper. Then came Stefan De Vrij's goal from Depay's assist, after which Koeman's team simplified their game and became less nervous. The winning goal came from an own goal by Mert Müldür, whose leg touched the ball first after a flank pass from Dumfries, knocking it away from Gakpo, who was ready to roll it into the net. Turkey tried to equalize and created several great moments, with Aktürkoğlu both creating and finishing chances. Verbruggen saved the Netherlands in one episode when Semih Kılıçsoy shot awkwardly and centrally, but the Dutch goalkeeper raised his hand to deflect the ball. With a bit of luck and some hard work, the Netherlands deservedly reached the semi-finals, but now they face England, where such matches with minimal chances, own goals, and other luck might not be enough.

England:

Criticism motivates the English. Gareth Southgate understands perfectly that Euro 2024 must be won, or the hate will be justified by negative results. One slip-up, and the founders of football might forget about praise from experts and their fans until the World Cup in North America.

Euro 2024 in Germany started with three unremarkable matches for England. They barely beat Serbia, then drew with the "Vikings," and Slovenia shut down the game, securing a 0-0 draw.

In the Round of 16, England pulled out a win against Slovakia in the final minutes when Jude Bellingham's beautiful overhead kick sent the match into extra time. In the first extra period, Kane scored to make it 2-1, a comfortable score for England. This result undoubtedly worried all of Southgate's fans, especially ahead of the match against a strong Switzerland.

England's first half of the quarter-final was terrible. Nothing worked upfront, and the defense was average, as Switzerland didn't press hard and looked for one good chance.

After the break, both teams came out ready to work, as shown by the early minutes of the second half. England couldn't hold onto the ball, and Switzerland was looking for Breel Embolo, who was the only player in this match to excel in different roles, mostly as a pure forward. Embolo had a couple of chances and then scored a goal that seemed very important, possibly a winning one. But the Arsenal duo Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka equalized, with the winger's goal being not just beautiful but necessary. The 1-1 score suited everyone, so the teams held on, and small episodes could decide everything in extra time.

In the two extra periods, each team created one super chance: Declan Rice's long shot saved by Yann Sommer and Shaqiri's curling corner that hit the crossbar. The score remained unchanged, and the winner was decided in a penalty shootout.

Everyone scored perfectly from the spot, except for Manuel Akanji, whose shot seemed unprepared. England converted all penalties and advanced, but Switzerland showed good quality football both in this match and throughout the tournament.

For England, probably any team is tough. The Netherlands don't play anti-football and won't fear the British team, so Gareth Southgate must come up with a tactic that will be effective, primarily from a defensive perspective, as the Dutch have a powerful attack, and England will have to fall back sometimes to carefully play against Depay, Gakpo, and others.

Bookmakers favor a draw. What are the odds for the Netherlands vs England match?

Equal chances of winning suggest there could be a draw with extra time and a penalty shootout. The 1X2 line looks like this: P1 - 3.20; X - 3.00; P2 - 2.60. The total goals option is even more unpredictable: TM 2 - 1.93 and TB 2 - 1.92.

Dutch sophistication can outplay English anti-football

The Netherlands and England are playing average at Euro 2024, but the main thing is the result, and no one cares about the rest. However, as soon as one of these teams fails, the wave of criticism will be massive. So, both teams will play not only for the result but also for their reputation in this match.