England’s semi-final matchup against the Netherlands today will be their greatest test of Euro 2024.
With all due respect to the other nations they have faced, the Three Lions have not truly encountered “top” opposition, hence their progress so far in this tournament is nothing short of a miracle given their performance.
Taking first place in Group C meant that England was drawn against Slovakia and then Switzerland, rather than Germany, France, and Spain.
Extra time was needed for each of those matches, and penalties were required for England to advance in the quarterfinal match against Switzerland.
Netherlands will be by far England’s toughest test of the tournament
The Netherlands, who have players like Xavi Simons, Cody Gakpo, and Nathan Ake in their ranks, will play England tonight.
Prior to the match, Gareth Southgate spoke with the media (via The Mirror) and praised Kieran Trippier, the Newcastle United defender who has been filling in for Luke Shaw.
“Luke has been injured for four months, so it wasn’t a possibility for him to play until the last match. He made a good contribution to the game, so that’s the decision we have to make, whether he’s ready to start, whether that’s the best way to use him. We are very happy to have him back. He obviously gives us balance, different balance with the team, but also Kieran has done a fantastic job.
“He [Trippier] has played on many important nights for us. We have had a lot of big nights over the last seven or eight years. He has been so important on those occasions, but also around the squad, how he is with the rest of the players and the staff, so we are very fortunate to have players like him in our squad.”
Can we please have some attacking impetus tonight, Gareth?
We like how Southgate begins by mentioning that Luke Shaw was the only left-back he took into the tournament despite having not played football for four months and having little prospect of being available until the quarterfinal stages. And he questions why he receives so much criticism.
We all have our fingers crossed for another miracle tonight, and we could care less if it’s a fluke victory or the kind of miracle where Southgate plays to his team’s strengths instead of attempting to stifle them by trying to fit square pegs into round holes.
England, hurry up! But let’s face it, they aren’t defeating that Spanish team, are they? It doesn’t matter who wins today.
READ MORE ON:https://sportip.co.uk/