The Netherlands’ bid to become Euro 2024 champions continues in Dortmund on Wednesday night for a semi-final showdown with England.
Neither side made easy work of their quarter-final wins as England scraped through on penalties against Switzerland, and the Dutch came from behind to beat a spirited Turkey 2 – 1.
Now all eyes turn to Dortmund, Wednesday, 9 PM. But will this game be any better for fans’ heart rates?
The English predict an equal match
We’ll see whether the Netherlands’ dominant “Links Rechts” chanting can be out-sung by the classic croons of “it’s coming home” from English fans.
For now, the English media is already making a lot of noise with their pre-match hype.
The Daily Mail believes the Holland side is “not brilliant” and “quite an average Oranje” but recognises that “England are not great either”.
England and Netherlands fans are partying in Dusseldorf ahead of Wednesday's semi final 🤝🤩 #Euro2024 pic.twitter.com/6BgzlF5T4I
— The Sun Football ⚽ (@TheSunFootball) July 7, 2024
Meanwhile, The Sun also calls out Ronald Koeman’s team’s “weaknesses” and predicts Wednesday’s semi-final will be “a battle of equals”.
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All in all, the Dutch fighting spirit is their biggest asset — closely followed by super sub Wout Weghorst, who made all the difference in Saturday’s quarter-final.
But bookies say it’s coming home
So far both England and the Netherlands have enjoyed what most people are calling the ‘kinder’ side of the tournament’s draw (other adjectives include ‘easier’ or ‘ridiculous’).
But whatever you want to call it, the Dutch side are in their first Euros semi-final for 20 years and the grand final is in sight. 🤩
@ea_fc_24_packs THE DUTCH FANS ARE THE BEST THIS EUROS #football #ek #netherlands🇳🇱 #turkey🇹🇷 #ek2024 #EK #viral #fyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy #fy #fyp ♬ origineel geluid – .
Wednesday’s clash will be a challenge, especially with bookmakers currently favouring England as the winners.
However, since England has only won one official match against the Netherlands in history, at the ’96 Euros, it’s truly all to play for.
Who do you think will win on Wednesday? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
