ENGLAND are on the hunt to seal their spot in the Euro 2024 final on Wednesday night when they take on the Netherlands.
Gareth Southgate‘s side are just inches away from taking centre stage in Berlin’s Olympiastadion where they could face Spain or France.
The Three Lions head into the semi-finals after an impressive 5-3 penalty shootout win over Switzerland after a 1-1 draw.
After an uneasy start in Germany with two group game draws and a narrow win the Three Lions saved their place in the tournament with a 95th-minute Jude Bellingham overhead kick in the round of 16 clash against Slovakia.
And to avoid going out again England came from behind in the quarter-final against the Swiss after Breel Embolo’s opener thanks to Bukayo Saka‘s equaliser.
And they will now face the Netherlands in the semi-final.
Holland beat Turkey 2-1 in the quarter-final after Stefan de Vrij and a Mert Mulder own goal.
The Dutch have not had the best start to their European campaign but are beginning to find their feet in the tournament.
Lucky for England they have no suspension for this game after all their previous yellow cards are now wiped.
Southgate has a fully fit squad to select from with Marc Guehi back from his suspension and Luke Shaw in the line-up after making his Euro 2024 debut in the quarter-final.
BEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERS
The Three Lions boss needs to decide whether he should stick with a back three or return to a four-man defence.
The Netherlands are in the same boat and have no players suspended.
Ronald Koeman has gone for the same back four with Jerdy Schouten and Tijani Reijnders in midfield.
Fans can possibly see the Dutchman replace Steven Bergwijn on the left and Wout Weghorst will hope to start.
Bukayo Saka has to be the Three Lions starboy. Without his equaliser, the team may have been on their back to England.
The Arsenal star not only scored the only goal in the game but was one of the five players to convert his spot kick in the penalty shootout.
It was a massive comeback for the winger who had not taken a penalty since he missed the crucial spot-kick in the Euro 2020 final.
Meanwhile, for Holland, Cody Gakpo has made 8 shots and created 11 chances at the Euros.
The Liverpool star has already scored three goals and made one assist in Germany.
And the forward will definitely be a threat to England’s defence on Wednesday.
England have only beaten Holland once in nine meetings since a 4-1 win at Euro 96.
That is the Three Lions’ only win against the Dutch in a major tournament, 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
Southgate is hoping the Three Lions can see it through to the final and win the tournament after failing last time out.
He said: “Our intention is to play with the ball, but you have opponents trying to stop you.
“Our team has been under enormous pressure from the start and they did so well.
“At the moment we aren’t able to score lots but the last three games we’ve played against five at the back. We’re through to our third semi-final in four attempts but that’s not where we want it to end.”
Koeman is proud of his squad for coming this far in the tournament ahead of the clash against England.
He said: “For the whole nation, it’s something special. We are a small nation and we’re in the semi-finals with England, France and Spain.
“We are really proud. We had to suffer but it’s a great success to get the opportunity to play in a semi-final.”
Match result
Winner of the tie
*Odds courtesy of William Hill and are correct at the time of publication.
