- What: EURO 2024 Semi-Final, Netherlands vs. England
- Where: Germany, Dortmund
- When: July 10, 10:00 PM (local time – 9:00 PM)
- Stadium: BVB-Stadion (65,600 seats)
Due to a very uncertain tournament path, England has lost its status as the sole favorite before the semi-finals, ceding it to Spain. Now, today's match features two underdogs. According to bookmakers, England is now ranked No. 2 in the fight for the title, while the Netherlands is No. 4. However, the Dutch lag significantly behind the rest of the top three teams in the odds. The results of both teams have one common feature – huge uncertainty in achieving them. Weak for EURO semi-finalists...
Netherlands
The team's potential has so far been weakly converted into convincing results. However, reaching the EURO semi-finals is already quite a solid result. However, the team faces very big problems with strong opponents. A dull draw with France – 0:0, a hard-fought loss to Austria – 3:2, and a very tough "lucky" victory over Turkey – 2:1. The latter came thanks to an own goal and total misfortune for the Turks in the final stretch of the match when they organized a dense and intense attack.
Netherlands at the EURO: No. 3 in dangerous chances – 16. No. 3 in goals scored – 9. No. 3 in missed scoring chances – 11.
In the lineup: Cody Gakpo – No. 1 in goals scored at the EURO – 3 goals and No. 1 in Goal + Assist system – 4 contributions, No. 2 in created scoring chances – 4.
Xavi Simons – No. 1 in assists – 3 assists.
Bart Verbruggen – No. 3 in clean sheets – 2 games.
England
They continue their boring path of draws through the stages of the EURO, but they continue nonetheless. After a 1:0 victory over Serbia in the first group match, they played 4 consecutive draws in regular time, all low-scoring. Among them was one "goalless draw" and three 1:1 games. The team only gets into gear when they concede first and start to "burn" – as was the case with Slovakia and Switzerland. But they only get into gear for a short time – they equalize and then tediously hold out for the draw. It's an extremely unpleasant spectacle.
England at the EURO: No. 1 in hitting the post – 3. No. 1 in accurate long passes – 25 per game. No. 2 in accurate passes – 597 per game. No. 3 in ball possession – 58%.
No individual player from the England squad has made it into the personal TOPs.
Prediction
The match promises to be challenging for both teams due to their radically different playing styles. However, it's not clear how England could win in regular time. For the Netherlands, it's crucial not to let the game go into extra time and penalties – their chances diminish rapidly there.
Prediction xGscore: Netherlands will not lose
