Netherlands vs England Prediction: A competitive encounter is expected in Dortmund

At Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund, Netherlands will take on England in the second semifinal encounter of the UEFA European 2024 competition. Heading into this crucial encounter, the two nations have shown character and will hope to give it their all. Which team will join Spain in the final?

The Netherlands will go all out for this game after a decent performance that saw them book their semifinal following a win over Turkey. In that game, the Netherlands found themselves behind in the 35th minute of the game, following an Arda Guler cross which Samet Akaydin did well to carefully guide home. 

However, the Netherlands could not respond until the 70th minute when Stefan de Vrij guided a corner kick from Memphis Depay's cross to level the scores. In the meantime, Netherlands took the lead just six minutes after their first strike through an own goal by Mert Muldur, thanks to a Dezel Dumfries square play pass. 

Pre-match facts show Netherlands forward Cody Gakpo is tied with three other players on three goals in the tournament's Golden Boot race. Given that those other three players have been eliminated, a goal here would likely cement Gakpo as the award winner.

England have a big call in this semifinal after a struggling run of games into this semis. Against Slovakia in the knockout stage, England needed an extra time win to book a quarterfinal spot as they came from behind to win that game. 

However, England were on the brink of missing out on the Euros until a Bukayo Saka strike from outside the box leveled their scores in the 80th minute of the game. In the meantime, England conceded in the 75th minute of the match through Breel Embolo's strike, but England stepped up and could not add a second, even after the strike. Thanks to five goals from five from the spot, England made the semifinals following a Manuel Akanji saved penalty by Jordan Pickford. 

Pre-match facts show that England's most famous match with the Netherlands at the European Championships came back in the group stage in the 1996 edition. Terry Venables' Three Lions dismantled a robust Dutch side 4-1 in front of a packed Wembley crowd. 

Netherlands Possible Starting Lineup:

Verbruggen; Dumfries, De Vrij, Van Dijk, Ake; Schouten, Reijnders; Malen, Simons, Gakpo; Depay

England Possible Starting Lineup:

Pickford; Walker, Stones, Guehi; Saka, Mainoo, Rice, Trippier; Bellingham, Foden; Kane

This game can go either way, and it is up to luck here. The Netherlands have been a decent team since the start of this Euro 2024, and we can only expect them to do better. However, looking at this England team, they have shown they can do the unbelievable. This should be a competitive game from the beginning to the end, but England have the squad, provided they click, to win this game.