In arguably their best game so far in the tournament, England came from behind to beat the Netherlands and reach their second EURO final in a row. Xavi Simons opened the scoring for the Dutch in the 7th minute. Harry Kane equalized 11 minutes later from the spot, and the sub, Ollie Watkins, brought the victory to the Three Lions in the 91st minute.Gareth Southgate opted for the same formation as in the quarter-final against Switzerland, with three centre-backs. The only change he made was the return of Marc Guehi to the starting lineup after the suspension, while Ezri Konsa started the game on the bench. Ronald Koeman, on the other hand, also made one change compared to the last-round victory over Turkey. Given that the experiment with Steven Bergwijn in the starting 11 didn’t work out well, Donyell Malen, scorer of two against Romania in the round of 16, got his place alongside Cody Gakpo and Memphis Depay in the offensive line.Seven minutes into the game, the Netherlands broke the deadlock from their first shot attempt! Xavi Simons picked Declan Rice’s pocket, steamed towards goal, and unfurled a sensational strike from outside the box! Six minutes later, Harry Kane took a snapshot from distance but Bart Verbruggen managed to deflect it.However, only a minute later, Denzel Dumfries went right through Kane in the box, and the ref, Felix Zwayer, pointed to the spot after a consultation with VAR. Bayern Munich’s forward was impeccable, levelling the score in the 18th minute. The fantastic rhythm continued in the 23rd minute when Dumfries at least partially redeemed himself by preventing Phil Foden’s shot on the goal line after Man City’s winger wriggled free and tried to squeeze the ball beyond Verbruggen.Half an hour into the match, after a corner Dumfries out-jumped Jude Bellingham and crashed a header against the crossbar. Only two minutes later, England hit the woodwork as well! Foden attempted to bend the ball into the top left from around 25 meters, but his effort hit the post. Ten minutes before the break, Koeman was forced to make the first substitution – Depay couldn’t continue, and Joey Veerman replaced him.The Furious streak whose end is not even in sightFoden tried once more from distance in the 40th minute, but the Dutch keeper was careful. That was the last chance in the first half, which was immensely interesting and attractive and the fans could have only hoped for more after the break. Although England played arguably the best half in the entire tournament, Southgate made a halftime change – Luke Shaw replaced Kieran Trippier at the left flank, while Koeman decided to send his golden sub, Wout Weghorst, in for Malen.England’s late knockout goals to keep themselves in the EUROs:⚽️ 95’ Bellingham Vs. Slovakia⚽️ 80′ Saka Vs. Switzerland⚽️ 91’ Watkins Vs. NetherlandsComeback kings. 👑 pic.twitter.com/ZXAfRTN6jM— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) July 10, 2024 The rhythm significantly dropped at the beginning of the second half. The teams were much more cautious, and consequently, the first quarter of an hour in the second period passed without a single attempt. We had to wait until the 65th minute to see the first shot and it was an opportunity for the Dutchmen. Veerman delivered a free kick and Jordan Pickford superbly denied Virgil van Dijk’s effort from close range.England had been a better team with a possession advantage for 60 minutes, and then – purposefully or not – the Three Lions gave over the possession to the Netherlands. Koeman’s squad mainly relied on Weghorst’s height and strength, and Simons’ creativity. However, the Oranje simply couldn’t manage to outsmart the English defensive line. In the 79th minute, Bukayo Saka scored, but the goal was disallowed since Kyle Walker, who assisted, was offside.2 – England have now reached the final in two of their four major tournaments under Gareth Southgate (also EURO 2020) – they had only done so in one of their previous 23 World Cup/EURO appearances (1966 World Cup) before Southgate’s tenure. Midas. pic.twitter.com/pwz1qyt8mM— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) July 10, 2024 Seeing that his team lost freshness in the attack, Southgate subbed Cole Palmer and Ollie Watkins in for Kane and Foden. In the 88th minute, Palmer tried from the edge of the box, but over the bar, that being the first England shot in the second half! However, the second one in the first minute of added time completely shocked the orange part of Signal Iduna Park and secured the Three Lions’ second consecutive EURO final! The subs’ combination made it 2-1 and showed that Southgate knew exactly what he was doing. Palmer slipped the ball to Watkins in the box, who twisted quickly and arrowed it into the bottom corner!1 – England are the first side in UEFA European Championship history to reach the final despite trailing in both the quarter-final and semi-final en route. Resolve. pic.twitter.com/YmB8qSqYBQ— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) July 10, 2024 We saw a much better game in the first half, in which England were way better. In the second period, the Netherlands were closer to taking the lead but were unlucky to concede a goal in the last minute of the match. The Three Lions will celebrate Watkins and Southgate, while, on the other hand, Simons’ fantastic performance was not enough for the Oranje. In the grand final, England will face Spain, having another chance to win the European Championship trophy for the first time.EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP – 1/2 FINALSSemifinalsTuesdaySpain – France 2-1 (2-1)/Yamal 21, Olmo 25 – Kolo Muani 9/WednesdayNetherlands – England 1-2 (1-1)/Simons 7 – Kane 18 pen, Watkins 90+1/***odds are subject to change***
