England will have their sights on a second successive Euro final when they face the Netherlands in Wednesday’s clash in Dortmund, but if victory in the 2024 edition is to be achieved, inspiration will likely be needed following a drab tournament so far.

The quarterfinal shootout win over Switzerland brought momentary euphoria for the English, but it was more relief than redemption. After another dull performance, England may require a transformation in attack to reach a third major tournament final, where Spain will lie in wait.

Gareth Southgate’s side have limped into the last four with tepid performances against opponents they should, on paper, have beaten easily.

“These are national events with huge pressure, with really young men in the middle of it. Our team has been under enormous pressure from the start. They’re doing so well. So well,” Southgate said.

“We’re not able to score a load of goals at the moment. But again, we’ve played three teams that play back fives, very well organised defences.”

Netherlands, meantime, have yo-yoed through, and were 20 minutes from elimination before their fightback against Turkey in the last eight.

The Dutch have become accustomed to scrambling, however, having fallen behind in three of their four scoring games. Their three wins were all in regulation time, however, compared to one for England.

The Netherlands also have the edge in attack, their nine goals at Euro 2024 coming from 20 attempts on target against 15 by an England side spearheaded by the usually lethal but currently subdued Harry Kane, Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham.

The Dutch will bank on the tournament’s joint top scorer Cody Gakpo to trouble an England defence that has been solid in contrast with their jaded attack.

While England’s progress appears surprising, given the football they have played, they were among the bookmakers’ favourites ahead of the tournament.

But the Netherlands’ performance has been unexpected, with the Dutch set to play in the semifinals of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) European Football Championship for the first time in 20 years. They are aiming for their first final since their 1988 Euros triumph, their only major tournament success.

Expectations and reviews of performances for the Netherlands have been as scathing as those for England. The Dutch coach Ronald Koeman has had to hit back at pundits who questioned his team’s commitment, saying his players showed a big heart in coming from behind to beat Turkey.

“We need to fight to win the semifinal,” Koeman said. “It will be a great night on Wednesday between two big nations historically. England have good players, but we have too.”

Historically, the Netherlands have been more successful in their encounters and beat England 3-1 in extra time in their last meeting in 2019 in the UEFA Nations League semifinal.

England have won just one of their last nine meetings with Netherlands in all competitions (D4 L4), winning a friendly match 1-0 in Amsterdam in 2018.

Their most famous victory, and the last before that run, was at Euro 1996 when Terry Venables’s side stopped the likes of Denis Bergkamp and Clarence Seedorf with an exhilarating 4-1 win in the group stage. Alan Shearer and Teddy Sheringham both scored twice, while a young Patrick Kluivert came off the bench to score a consolation for Guus Hiddink’s Dutch side.

Premier League influence

Much as in the times of Bergkamp, there remains a strong English Premier League influence on both sides, which Dutch defender Micky van de Ven says could ensure an exciting semifinal.

The vast majority of the England squad are home-based while the 26-man Dutch squad at the tournament includes seven players from Premier League clubs.

“If you see the quality of the players from both teams, I think you can expect that the level and the rhythm of the game will be really high,” Van de Ven, who plays for Tottenham Hotspur, told a press conference on Monday.

“Hopefully, it’s us that will have more of the ball than England so that it is England who do the running, but I expect a high-intensity game.”

FIFA ranking:

Netherlands (7), England (5)

Head-to-head record:

22 games:

7 wins for the Netherlands

6 for England

9 draws

Last five matches:

Netherlands: W-W-L-D-W

England: D-W-D-D-W

Possible line-ups:

Netherlands: Verbruggen; Dumfries, De Vrij, Van Dijk, Ake; Schouten, Simons, Reijnders; Malen, Depay, Gakpo

England: Pickford; Walker, Stones, Guehi; Saka, Mainoo, Rice, Shaw; Bellingham, Foden; Kane. (Al Jazeera)

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