Despite a lot of criticism in EURO 2024, England have somehow managed to scrape their way through to the semi-final where they are set to take on a slightly disjointed Netherlands side.
The Three Lions will definitely be buoyant going into this semi-final but their recent record against the Oranje has not been that great. They have won just one out of their previous 9 meetings which was a 1-0 win in a friendly match in 2018.
England have now played two 120 minutes consecutively which means Southgate will have to be really careful and manage his player’s game time. This could mean that if the Three Lions can somehow wrap things up early, the manager could use his bench strength and rest a few of his regular starters.
The fans and the media had been urging Southgate to play a more exciting brand of football at the start of the campaign but now as they have reached the business end, no one is going to care about the style of play as long as England can get past Netherlands.
England’s predicted line up vs Netherlands:
The big plus for the English manager will be the fact that Marc Guehi will be back from suspension and he will replace Ezri Konsa as the left-sided central defender.
Luke Shaw returned from his long injury spell and the Manchester United man managed to play around 42 minutes in the QF. The full-back should get the nod ahead of Kieran Trippier because he is a naturally left-footed player. Bukayo Saka did a superb job as the right wing-back and the Arsenal man is going to hold onto his spot which means Kyle Walker will play in the backline and Trent will remain on the bench.
Initially, Gareth Southgate had claimed that he does not have a like-for-like replacement for Kalvin Phillips but young Kobbie Mainoo has turned out to be the ideal partner for Declan Rice as the two have massively stabled the England midfield. Unless there’s a late injury or serious fatigue, the Three Lions manager is not going to bench either of these two.
Harry Kane has scored just the one goal for England in this EURO and Ivan Toney is pushing him for a start but there’s no way Southgate is going to drop the Bayern Munich man to the bench, not at least in the semi-final. Kane is going to lead the line with Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham playing behind him.
Phil Foden has created 6 chances in this tournament during the 453 minutes he has been on the pitch and against Switzerland, he was given the license to roam freely in and around the final third. Against Netherlands, the Man City playmaker will be deployed in a similar role while Jude Bellingham will mostly marshal the left-hand side.
England predicted line up vs Netherlands:
Predicted Starting XI(3-4-2-1): Pickford; Guehi, Stones, Kyle Walker; Mainoo, Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Shaw; Bellingham, Phil Foden; Harry Kane.
