DORTMUND: The route to the last four of Euro 2024 has been a rocky one for the Netherlands and England, and a few flashes of their best quality in their semi-final showdown might be enough for either side to make the final.

England’s shootout win over Switzerland brought momentary euphoria, but it was more relief than redemption and Wednesday’s date with the Dutch in Dortmund may require a transformation in attack for them to reach a third major tournament final, against France or Spain.

England have limped into the last four with tepid performances against opponents they should on paper have beaten easily, while the Netherlands have yo-yoed through and were 20 minutes from elimination before their quarter-final fightback against Turkey.

The Dutch dazzled in their last-eight rout of Romania but have had to scramble too, having fallen behind in three of their four scoring games. Their three wins were all in regulation time, however, compared to one for England, and the Dutch have scored nearly double their number of goals at the tournament.

The Netherlands 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.

England improved against the Swiss but their five expertly struck penalties rescued an attack that again looked frustrated, with Bukayo Saka’s 80th-minute equaliser their first shot on target.

Netherlands do not have that problem and will bank on the tournament’s joint top scorer Cody Gakpo to and trouble an England defence that has been solid in contract with their jaded attack.

England have a first ever major tournament final on foreign soil in their sights and are aiming to match their run to the Euro 2020 final, when they lost in heartbreaking fashion on penalties to Italy at Wembley.

England’s only ever major tournament triumph also came on home soil at the 1966 World Cup.

Manager Gareth Southgate declined to discuss the Dutch after his side’s win over Switzerland, keeping media attention squarely on his players’ resilience in handling the intensity of penalties.

England’s troubles in front of goal were during matches he said were not normal, against crowded defences determined to stop them.

“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.”

Southgate is again expected to stick to a similar lineup having been impervious to calls to shake things up or make substitutions earlier during the tournament.

Under Southgate, England are now in a third semi-final in four major tournaments - matching the three semi-finals they had reached in their history prior to his appointment eight years ago.

That has not sheltered the 53-year-old from criticism. Southgate was pelted with beer cups after a 0-0 draw against Slovenia in the group stages and has faced a backlash for his perceived negative tactics with a richly-talented squad.

The England boss has bristled at suggestions his side ended up on the kind side of the draw, away from France, Spain, Germany and Portugal.

Yet, the Dutch can count themselves even more fortunate for their path to the final after finishing third in Group ‘D’ behind France and Austria.

Ronald Koeman’s men produced their best display of the tournament in sweeping aside Romania 3-0 in the last 16 before battling back from a goal down to beat Turkey 2-1 in front of a hostile crowd in Berlin.

Coming up against a raft of Premier League stars will hold little fear for the Netherlands, who boast their own impressive crop of talent plying their trade in England’s top flight.

“If you see the quality of players from both teams, you can expect the rhythm and level of the game will be really high,” said Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven.

Liverpool’s Gakpo has arguably been the form attacker at the tournament and is the only player to have scored three goals still alive in the competition.

The Dutch have had to wait 36 years since their own sole major tournament triumph, the last time the Euros were held in Germany.

That is also the only time they have ever made a European Championship final.

But they will fancy their chances of being in Berlin on Sunday unless England suddenly click into gear.

Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman has also received criticism, hitting back at pundits who questioned his team’s commitment and saying his players showed a big heart in coming from behind to beat Turkey.

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

Published in Dawn, July 10th, 2024