After the quarter-final between the Netherlands and Turkey, which ended with victory for the Tulips with 2:1, the names of all four teams that qualified for the 1/2-finals of the European Football Championship in Germany became clear. The Dutch will meet England in one semi-final, and in the other, Spain and France are rivals in Munich.
"La Furia Roja" is the best team at Euro 2024, but in the 1/4-finals for the first time since the beginning of the competition, it was put under a serious test by the hosts from Germany. Luis de la Fuente's side won 2:1 after extra-time following a late goal from Mikel Merino, but were made to work hard after conceding an equalizer a minute before the end of regular time. The Spaniards are energetic, dynamic and play direct football, but for the semi-final they will be without three key players in Dani Carvajal, who was sent off against Germany, Pedri, who has a sprained knee ligament, and Alvaro Morata, who is suspended for accumulating cards.
Didier Deschamps' France progressed to the semi-finals after knocking out Portugal on penalties. The Roosters are far from their best form in the tournament, but with a very good game in defense they compensate so far for the ineffective game in attack - the French are one step away from the final, given that they do not have a goal from play - own goal by Maximilian Weber in the match with Austria, a penalty by Kylian Mbappe against Poland and another own goal by Jan Vertonghen, which eliminated the Belgium team. In their remaining two matches, France finished 0:0 twice - against the Netherlands and Portugal. Now, Deschamps will again try to stop the Spanish machine with his solid performances in defense where Dayot Upamecano and William Saliba operate.
In the other clash, the Netherlands play England in Dortmund. The Three Lions once again struggled in the tournament in their quarter-final with Switzerland, but they managed to eliminate the well-organised Crusaders after perfect performances on penalties. Gareth Southgate's side found themselves playing catch-up in the 75th minute but equalized shortly after through Bukayo Saka, and then made no mistake from the penalty spot. England have been unconvincing so far, but they are in the semi-finals, and the same can be said for the Dutch squad.
Ronald Koeman and company needed a turnaround against a struggling Turkey side after convincingly overcoming Romania in the Round of 16. The Tulips are in flux, and Xavi Simmons and Memphis Depay are not at the expected level. However, the strong performance of Cody Gakpo, who has 4 goals in the tournament and is likely to be the top scorer at Euro 2024, combined with Wout Weghorst's excellent performances from the bench, give the Netherlands a chance to challenge for the title.
Full Euro 2024 semi-final schedule:
Tuesday, July 9
22:00, Spain - France
Wednesday, July 10
22:00, Netherlands - England. | BGNES
