One more spot is available for a place in the final of EURO 2024. Can Netherlands book their place for the first time since 1988? Or will England avenge themselves for their final defeat in 2021?

Netherlands v England

The Netherlands fell behind for the third time this tournament on Saturday, but Ronald Koeman’s side demonstrated champion-level resilience with a 2-1 victory. Centerback Stefan de Vrij steered home the equaliser with his first international goal since 2015, while Denzel Dumfries’ driven cross, and Cody Gakpo’s persistence. forced an own-goal from Mert Müldür just 6 minutes later.  

Müldür will have felt like the world was caving in on Saturday night, but he is far from the only elite talent to let such a catastrophic error define a fixture. In fact, it is the 10th own goal at the 2024 European championships. Considering that the first 15 tournaments combined had only 9 own goals, there is a real question as to why this phenomenon has suddenly taken hold.

An own goal did not come to the rescue for England, but they too had their fair-share of luck in making it through to the semi-finals. After an impressive opening 20 minutes, England reverted back into a defensive shell against Switzerland, struggling to dictate the fixture with any semblance of initiative. It felt like only a matter of time before Gareth Southgate’s side went behind, and in the 75th minute Switzerland’s pressure paid off with the so-underrated Breel Embolo giving Murat Yakın’s side the lead.

Just a mere 15 minutes separated Switzerland from their first semi-final in international tournament history, but despite their collective failures, England still had elite individual quality to call upon. Against Slovakia it was Jude Bellingham who pulled the equaliser out of the fire, and 6 days later, it was a brilliant solo from Bukayo Saka that rekindled hope amongst the English masses.  

After missing his penalty in the EURO 2020 final, the 22-year-old Arsenal forward became a national scapegoat. However, his performance on Sunday has brought the narrative full-circle, healing the wounds from that failure three years ago. Saka not only scored the equaliser in regular-time, but also comfortably dispatched England’s 3rd penalty in the successful penalty shoot-out.

The resilience in the squad and potential for individual brilliance has brought England far, but they will need to offer more if they want to overcome the Netherlands in the next round. England have won only 2 of the last 15 meetings between these two sides, and the Dutch will give everything to reach an international final for the first time since 2010. 

Prediction: The Netherlands Win