Key events
I’m 99% sure he was joking but just in case, I should flag to one of our readers emailing from the US, Terry M from Tucson, that when I referred to Poku as ‘the AZ man’, I was referring to AZ Alkmaar, not Arizona.
Half-time reading:
Half-time: England 0-0 Netherlands
Goalless at the break. This is a game that has ebbed and flowed.
45+3 min: Chance for England! Again it comes down the left, as Hutchinson gets to the byline, crosses low, Elliott dummies wonderfully so the ball finds Scott who shoots … but Milambo comes out of nowhere to get the slightest of touches, with the ball deflecting just over! What a tackle!
45+1 min: Anderson gets a yellow card for yet another flailing arm. Replays show that the decision is a bit harsh, but perhaps that is a cumulative booking.
45 min: Both teams are struggling to find a focal point. Both Stansfield and Van Bergen have struggled. It will be interesting to see if they stay on the pitch for the second half.
43 min: Alex Scott, who seemingly has a bean bag for a right foot, brings the ball out of the sky with the softest of Berbatov-esque touches. Delicious.
41 min: Poku and Livramento are having a good little battle down the Netherlands’ left. Both have had good moments against each other and when Poku has got clear, Cresswell has made a covering tackle.
39 min: More of the ball, but the Netherlands do look like they are lacking some creativity. Remember both Kenneth Taylor and captain Ruben van Bommel are missing from this side, two of the Netherlands’ best players.
37 min: A small break in play after Flamingo hits the deck inside England’s area. There are no real claims for a Dutch penalty but replays show Anderson’s arms were flailing (again). It looked a little clumsy as Maatsen crossed from the left.
35 min: Big block from Alex Scott! The Bournemouth midfielder is a silky player on the ball but shows his steel here, flying out to meet Milambo as the Dutchman was taking aim.
33 min: Whisper it, but the Dutch have settled a little. Perhaps it’s the heat, but England’s tempo has dropped off slightly and Netherlands are enjoying more of the ball.
31 min: After Hinshelwood does well to ease Van Bergen off the ball inside England’s box, Carsley’s team break nicely down the left: McAtee and Hutchinson combining neatly before Elliott chooses the wrong pass on the edge of Netherlands’ box, attempting to slip a cute pass to Stansfield, rather than take a shot on himself.
29 min: Netherlands’ two biggest threats are Manhoef down the right – a stocky left-footed right winger in the mould of a young Shaqiri, perhaps – and Poku on the left: searing pace and an eye for goal. A cross field pass nearly finds Poku on a Netherlands counter-attack, the AZ man nearly bringing the ball out of the sky with a ridiculous touch, but Livramento does well to get a foot in.
27 min: Play resumes. On the broadcast, you clearly hear Carsley shouting “switch on, switch on” as he implores England not to lose concentration after the break.
25 min: The temperature is still well north of 30°C and the two teams stop for a drinks break. Both teams take on plenty of drinks and rub cold towels over their heads and necks.
23 min: The Dutch are struggling to play through the lines. Maatsen ushers his teammates forward, but is forced to pass sideways and then back.
21 min: Dutch keeper Roefs is having a fine game. Thrice he has claimed dangerous crosses or corners into the box and now he comes out of his goal intelligently to shut down McAtee on the right side of the Netherlands box. The City playmaker tried a backheel, but Roefs was wise to it.
19 min: A lovely little ball from McAtee releases Stansfield, again down the left, but the Birmingham striker sees his cross blocked by Van den Berg. It was a good position for England, although there didn’t seem to be anyone in the box, once Stansfield had peeled wide. Carsley would surely like a few more runners from midfield to gamble.
17 min: Netherlands are set up defensively in a low block and seem happy to counter-attack. England are probing with the ball and waiting for an opening.
15 min: A clumsy/nasty (delete as appropriate) looking elbow from Anderson catches Valente in the throat and Netherlands have an excellent opportunity to swing in a set piece. Maatsen over the ball, and he overcooks the cross, straight out for a goal kick. What a waste.
Another huge save from Roefs with his feet!
12 min: England are really on top, and so nearly prize open the Dutch. This time it is Stansfield that gets to the byline on the left and he finds Elliott on the penalty area, who takes a glorious touch to earn half a yard and fires fiercely at the far post. But Roefs spreads himself beautifully, and this time his left shin diverts the ball behind!
9 min: The best player on the pitch so far is Hutchinson, who nips past Kasanwirjo on England’s left flank. The Ipswich winger has twice outsmarted his opposite number and looks bang up for it.
7 min: Valente, who appeared for Italy’s youth teams as a teenager owing to his Italian father, sets Netherlands off on a brilliant counter-attack, skipping through a couple of challenges on the edge of his own box and releasing Poku expertly down the left. Poku, who scored the winner against Portugal, is frighteningly quick and beats Quansah for pace before another low cross into the box, but it is just behind Van Bergen.
Huge save from Roefs!
4 min: England go close! Hutchinson, playing down the left, does a nifty stepover and gets to the byline. It’s a hopeful low cross but into a good area, which comes all the way across to Elliott at the far post … the Liverpool midfielder is all alone and shoot to the near post but Roefs flies across his goal, sticks out a left boot and clears the ball off the line!
“That’s an unconventional save”, says former England keeper Joe Hart on co-commentary. “Sometimes you have to make your mind early whether to go with your hands or with your feet, and Roefs did well.”
2 min: A slow start as England ping it around without any real threat. Van Bergen crashes into Cresswell and it’s an England free-kick!
Peeeeeeeeep!
And we’re off in Slovakia!
The teams are out! England in their white shirts, navy shorts and white socks. Netherlands in their famous all-orange number. It is 33°C in Bratislava, and probably is even hotter on the pitch.
Fair play to Jay Stansfield. The Birmingham striker has scored 23 goals in League One after his £15m move and was excellent against Spain with his pressing and composure as the focal point of England’s attack, justifying Carsley’s decision to start him. The England manager has some serious options on the bench: Marseille striker Jonathan Rowe, Arsenal wonderkid Ethan Nwaneri, and Aston Villa’s Iling-Junior are all waiting in the wings.
These are the highlights from England’s win over Spain in the last round. It really was a complete performance against the pre-tournament favourites.
Here is Ed Aarons’s preview of the match, with England manager Lee Carsley reflecting on the under-21 European success two years ago, and midfielder Alex Scott also remembering his own European title wit England at under-19 level three years ago. Scott scored the winning goal in that semi-final against Italy, and here’s what he had to say this week:
It’s one of my proudest moments of my career so far. Any time I’ve been to England [is a proud moment] but to win a tournament in England was really special. I think that brings experience as well. A few of the lads have been there and done it. I know what it takes to win a major tournament. Hopefully we can take that experience we have and take it into [the Netherlands match].
The teams!
England: Beadle, Livramento, Quansah, Cresswell, Hinshelwood, Hutchinson, McAtee, Anderson, Stansfield, Elliott, Scott.
Subs: Sharman-Lowe, Simkin, Edwards, Egan-Riley, Norton-Cuffy, Hackney, Fellows, Gray, Nwaneri, Rowe, Iling-Junior.
Netherlands: Roefs, Kasanwirjo, Maatsen, van den Berg, Hato, Flamingo, Valente, Milambo, van Bergen, Manhoef, Poku.
Subs: Raatsie, van den Heuvel, Saleh-Eddine, Meijer, Goes, Regeer, Banzuzi, van Brederode, Ohio.
Preamble
Here we are again, England in the latter stages of a European Championship.
Both teams here have had similar tournaments, starting slow in the group stage, finishing second, but starting to warm up in the knockout round. England defeated pre-tournament favourites Spain in the quarter-finals while Netherlands played for 70 minutes for 10 men but managed to sneak a late goal against Portugal to win 1-0.
England make just one change from the starting XI that beat Spain, Elliot Anderson coming in for Tyler Morton in midfield.
That red for for Ruben van Bommel means the son of the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich midfielder, Mark van Bommel, is suspended for this semi-final, a huge miss for the Dutch. The Netherlands also had a man sent off in their final group game, a 2-0 win over Ukraine, after substitute Youri Regeer was dismissed for a wild tackle nine minutes after coming on. Regeer returns to the bench for this one.
Those familiar with British football will recognise some of the Dutch names: Ian Maatsan is probably the biggest star, and the Aston Villa left back was the player of the match in the last round against Portugal. Neraysho Kasanwirjo played at Rangers this season but struggled to break into the first XI, while Rav van den Berg was a consistent performer for Middlesbrough and Million Manhoef has shone for Stoke City.
Kenneth Taylor, another player suspended for the Dutch, is a huge star in central midfield and was voted as Ajax’s player of the year last season – he has been linked with moves to Villa, Arsenal and Newcastle in the recent past.
It should be a cracker: 5pm BST kick-off.
