England leave it late to reach the final

England came to Euro 2024 as one of the favourites. They have a balanced unit with strong bench strength but as the tournament commenced, the ghost of previous events gripped the whole team. Honestly speaking, England had been performing poorly and literally rode their luck to the semifinal. 

Until the visit to Dortmund for the semifinal clash, the performance of England lacked the cutting edge. But against Holland, they started to strike the right chord.

With the famous Yellow Wall turned Orange for the evening, there was no holding back from the Dutch during a blistering opening period.

Seven minutes in, England was slow to react when Marc Guehi, restored at left centre-back after a one-match ban, headed away a long ball. Declan Rice gathered possession but did not sort out his feet and was swiftly dispossessed by Xavi Simons.

Simons advanced without the fear of the English backline covering up and from yards outside the area, the midfielder scripted a right-footed effort towards the far corner and pretty much stunned Jordan Pickford, who was beaten by the power of the shot despite getting a hand to the ball.

England were behind for the third successive game.

Over on the left, Kieran Trippier was seen to call for calm and composure and no need to panic, rather, play the game accordingly. The Three Lions flourished in a 3-4-2-1 formation. Bellingham was purposeful and Bukayo Saka was lively on the right again. Phil Foden and Kobbie Mainoo were in fine tunes.

As for Harry Kane, he had a point to prove. There was more zip to the captain’s movement, more energy. England sensed a way back when Kane pulled away from Virgil van Dijk and tested Bart Verbruggen from 25 yards.

Saka was next to drive forward, wriggling away from Nathan Aké, who was having a torrid time. Desperation taking over, the Dutch defence panicked as the ball reached Kane, who shot over a split second before being caught by a high foot from Denzel Dumfries.

It was a clear foul, albeit one that needed a VAR review and Kane stepped up to take his first penalty in a tournament since his miss against France – this time, he did not miss and not only levelled the score but let England play with a lot more intent that put the Dutch on the back foot.

An army of white shirts poured forward - Trippier pushing up the left and Kyle Walker supporting Saka with a stream of overlapping runs. Foden, always in space, was having a splendid game.

Ronald Koeman went for timely substitutions and Gareth Southgate, criticised for not doing the same, did the same that would strike gold.

The contest became cagey rather than lively as both sides sought to invite the opponents inside their halves and exploit the spaces left behind via counterattacks.

After the break, England had the ball but they were finding it harder to break through the lines, the Dutch more compact with Veerman providing the defence with an extra shield.

The ball was no longer finding its way to Saka in space. Bellingham and Foden were probing without success.

England were fading, their bluntness captured by Jerdy Schouten halting Bellingham’s burst down the left. Bellingham, desperate to make an impact, was booked for a clumsy foul. Moments later he failed to gather a huge throw from Pickford.

The sight of Tijjani Reijnders, Schouten and Veerman dictating the tempo felt all too familiar. England needed fresh legs and Southgate reacted after Saka had a goal disallowed for a tight offside against Walker, Foden and a tiring Kane making way for Palmer and Watkins. But still, the Dutch pressed and it needed a vital challenge from Guehi to deny Weghorst.

Cody Gakpo had finally come alive on the left, worrying Walker with his dangerous dribbling. At the other end, a rare England attack ended with Shaw’s cross.

With the match heading for another extra-time affair, Ollie Watkins collected Cole Palmer’s pass, swivelled away from Stefan de Vrij and arrowed a stunning shot into the Dutch net.

This time, Southgate called it right; England will feature in the final of Euro for the second successive time.

Note: Excerpts from The Guardian

Thank You

Faisal Caesar