Euro 2024: Netherlands vs England Prediction: Second European final for Southgate

A place in the Euro 2024 final is up for grabs for both the Netherlands and England when they go head-to-head in Dortmund on Wednesday.

The Dutch have reached the final four of a major tournament for the first time since finishing third at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and they are now hoping to emulate their heroics from 1988 when they were famously crowned kings of Europe in Germany.

England, meanwhile, suffered heartbreak at Euro 2020 when they lost on home soil at Wembley in a penalty shootout against Italy in the final. The Three Lions will be eager to put those dark memories behind them and claim victory to secure their chance at redemption in Berlin.

Team news

There are no injury concerns for Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman but he has several difficult selection decisions to make for Wednesday’s clash.

Burnley striker Wout Weghorst is clamouring for a starting spot after impressing off the bench so far in the tournament but it looks highly unlikely either Memphis Depay or Cody Gakpo will be dropped.

Micky van de Ven and Joey Veerman are among the others also hoping to be promoted to the starting line-up after strong recent cameos from the bench.

England manager Gareth Southgate has been boosted by the return to full fitness of left-back Luke Shaw. The Manchester United man picked up his first minutes from the bench against Switzerland and he may be fit enough to start in Dortmund.

Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guehi is also available for selection after serving a one-match ban. He looks set to come back into the side in place of Ezri Konsa, who deputised admirably last time out.

Tip 1 – England to win @ 17/10

Both the Netherlands and England have begun to show signs of their quality in the knockout stages and, in what should be a tight but entertaining affair, it could be the Three Lions that come through to get another chance of continental glory.

England were flat for large parts in the early stages as they finished top of Group C with just one win and five points and they only just avoided a shock exit at the hands of Slovakia in the round of 16 thanks to Jude Bellingham’s 95th-minute equaliser. However, despite needing penalties to progress to the semi-finals, the Three Lions were notably better against an impressive Switzerland side and Gareth Southgate’s squad look to be finally finding some form in Germany.

The Dutch qualified for the knockout stage as one of the best third-placed sides after finishing behind Austria and France and looked to have returned to their best with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Romania.

However, they had to come from behind against an exciting Turkey side and could easily have fallen at the quarter-final stage had the Crescent Stars taken their chances.

With a spot in the final on the line, England are tipped to rise to the occasion and reach another European Championship final, seeing off the Dutch in what is the first meeting between the two nations in a major tournament since the Three Lions’ famous 4-1 win over the Netherlands in Euro 96.

Tip 2 – Over 2.5 goals @ 8/5

With plenty of attacking quality on show, there should be chances at both ends on Wednesday evening.

The Oranje have one of the joint-top goalscorers in the tournament in the form of Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo, who has netted three times so far, to rely on while Donyell Malen (two), Wout Weghorst and Memphis Depay have all also found the back of the net in Germany this summer.

Only Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, who have both scored twice, and Bukayo Saka have found the net for England in Euro 2024 so far but the likes of Phil Foden, Eberechi Eze and Cole Palmer are all able to cause opposition defences issues.

Each of the Netherlands’ last three games at the Euros have featured over 2.5 goals while four of the last five meetings between the two sides have contained at least three goals, too, so more of the same could well be on the cards in Dortmund.