Spain will find out who they will meet in the Euro 2024 final on Wednesday evening when the second semi-final of the competition will be played out in Dortmund as the Netherlands go up against an England side looking for successive Euro finals.
England lost out to Italy in the final of this tournament three years ago and they will be eager to get another shot at glory but the Dutch were winners of this competition the last time it was in Germany and will be looking to emulate that feat.
Where to watch
The second semi-final will be shown live and in full on the ITV1 channel in the UK with the extensive build-up beginning at 6.30pm ahead of the kick off at 8pm.
Netherlands
The Netherlands went into the tournament largely underrated and not really spoken about as potential winners by many but they are now two wins away from getting hold of major silverware for the first time in 36 years. They probably have had a soft path through to this semi-final since they left their group, where we should remember they only finished third to Austria and France, but you can only beat what is in front of them and the Dutch have done that.
The big thing from those two wins for the Dutch is that they haven’t needed extra time in either of them and at the end of a ridiculously long club season that might have an impact here, particularly with the fairly short turnaround between matches. The Dutch have looked decent enough going forward but there is still a lot more to come from them in that department you suspect. On the flip side of that, they haven’t looked anywhere near as solid as you would have expected them to look at the back.
England
Much like the French in the other semi-final, England have reached this stage of the tournament without impressing much at all. They will hope that the first decent side they have come across doesn’t send them the same way as the French and it will be interesting to see if they are finally ready to go and grab a match by the horns like we would expect a team with this quality to do. If they are this semi-final is in their grasp but if they revert to the type we have seen so far then they could be waiting to be put out of their misery.
England have had to go to extra time in their two knockout matches so far and had to come from behind in both of them. On one hand that shows that their character can’t be questioned regardless of their tactical inefficiency but on the other hand that is an extra hour of football which has been played by a team that has looked tired from the moment a ball was kicked in the tournament. Nevertheless, there is enough quality in this England team to win any game if they play anything close to how they can.
Special Offer
Sign up for a Boylesports account and bet £10 to get up to £20 in free bets! Perfect offer for Euro2024! Click the image below for this great offer! New accounts only. 18+ T&Cs apply. Gamble Aware.
Team News
The Netherlands have not reported any fresh injury concerns ahead of this showdown so their only selection question would appear to be whether to start with the Burnley striker Wout Weghorst or use the fluid front three they have started the last two games with.
England full-back Luke Shaw has confirmed that he is fit to start this match but the leaks coming out of the camp suggest that Gareth Southgate will resist that temptation and his only change will be Marc Guehi returning from suspension in place of Ezri Konsa.
Betting
Both teams have scored in both of the England knockout matches in this tournament so far and that is a trend I expect to continue. Initially I thought about backing the Netherlands to qualify but each time I go to pull the trigger I just tell myself that England can’t keep playing this badly and surely there will be a performance from them at some point so rather than go down that route I am going to take both teams to score at odds against.
The Dutch have shown enough going forward to suggest that they can cause England problems but defensively the Netherlands have been nothing like as was expected so I don’t see why England won’t have joy going forwards themselves. Turkey had a higher xG than the Netherlands in the quarter final and if England get presented with the same chances they will score and with the Dutch attack looking in better order, certainly than a Slovakia side who scored against England, it makes sense that they will score too. Both teams to score will do me.
Tips
Back Both teams to score for a 3/10 stake at 2.10 with Betfair
