Netherlands vs England Prediction: End of the road for Three Lions?
England have spluttered and stumbled at Euro 2024 so far, but they are still alive. Gareth Southgate has now made it to three semi-finals over the last four tournaments, an impressive record of consistency that only France can match over the same timespan.
Next up for England comes a gargantuan semi-final against the Netherlands in Dortmund. The Dutch have also grown into this tournament and were excellent in their 3-0 win over Romania, and their comeback success over Turkiye in the last eight. Below you can find my Netherlands vs England prediction for Wednesday night’s Euro 2024 semi-final.
Team News
Ronald Koeman has a difficult decision to make in the attacking part of his side as once again, the introduction of Wout Weghorst massively improved them against Turkiye. He came on at half-time and the Dutch recovered from 1-0 down, but he is still unlikely to start ahead of Memphis Depay. Expect the same XI to start here, with Virgil van Dijk marshaling the back three.
Meanwhile, Marc Guehi should return in place of Ezri Konsa for England, after serving his suspension. However, the big decision for Southgate will be whether to stick with the back three, or switch back to four in defence. Kieran Trippier is likely to keep his place, but Luke Shaw is now a genuine option off the bench having got his first minutes in four months against Switzerland.
Netherlands predicted starting XI:
Verbruggen; Dumfries, De Vrij, Van Dijk, Ake; Schouten, Reijnders; Malen, Simons, Gakpo; Depay
England predicted starting XI:
Pickford; Walker, Stones, Guehi; Saka, Mainoo, Rice, Trippier; Bellingham, Foden; Kane
The Netherlands are priced at 21/10 to win this game, with England available at 33/20 to win in 90 minutes. A draw can be backed at 37/20, BTTS is 12/11 and over 2.5 goals is 31/20.
Netherlands to win @ 21/10
I think this game is going to be a fairly tight one, but based on what we have seen so far, I think the Dutch are going to book their place in the final. Their defence is impressive, and the individual quality they have at the back should be enough to see them through. With Harry Kane completely out of sorts, and England still searching for the perfect system, I think this could be the end of the road.
Of course, the Three Lions have shown in the last two games they have excellent powers of recovery, but they’ve not come up against a major nation yet. I think the Netherlands will be able to get at their defence, and for England this could be a stretch too far, and Southgate’s final game in charge.
Cody Gakpo to score @ 16/5
It has been Cody Gakpo, rather than Depay who has been the Netherlands’ attacking star this tournament, from the left-hand side. He has been making fantastic runs into the box and is now in with a genuine chance of winning the Golden Boot, with three goals to his name. No player has scored more, and if he gets a couple more he could end as the top scorer.
Given England’s frailties, and the way they tend to sit back, I think Gakpo has every chance of scoring here, at big odds. England’s right side, with Bukayo Saka pushed far forward, may get caught out by the Liverpool man’s clever movement.
Check out our other Soccer Betting Predictions here.
