UEFA Nations League - England vs Netherlands - Lets

England vs Netherlands

UEFA Nations League – Semi Final – Guimarães

Thursday 6th June – 19:45 UK Time

The first ever Nations league Finals take place in Portugal with England and the Netherlands battling it out in the second Semi Final to earn the right to take on the hosts or Switzerland in the final of the tournament.

England – Route to the Finals

England knew the Nations League would be tough for them and so it proved with a 2-1 home defeat to Spain in their opening match.

Next up was a visit to Rijeka to take on Croatia, the nation who broke English hearts by ending their World Cup run at the semi final stage. It was a first point on the board for both sides after a goalless draw, but left them far behind the Spanish who had won their opening two matches.

When England travelled to Seville in October 2018, they knew that anything less than a win over Spain would mean the tournament ending and a possible relegation to League B. However, two goals from Raheem Sterling and one from Marcus Rashford gave England a 3-0 half time lead and they just held on despite a Spain fightback to win 3-2.

Croatia then beat Spain by the same scoreline, to set up an all or nothing decider against Croatia. Whichever team won would top the group, whoever lost would finish bottom, and Spain would reap the benefits if the match ended level. It looked like Croatia were going to break English hearts again when they took the lead just before the hour mark, but a 78th minute equaliser from Jesse Lingard was followed by a Harry Kane goal five minutes from full time and that gave England a 2-1 win.

Netherlands – Route to the Finals

The Netherlands were rank outsiders in their group, having failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup and being drawn against France and Germany. But they proved everyone wrong by coming through to top the group.

Like England, their campaign began with a defeat as they lost 2-1 in France but they bounced back in style to beat Germany 3-0 in Amsterdam.

A 2-0 home win over France meant they went into their final match in Gelsenkirchen just a point below the French. The match didn’t go to plan for the Dutch though as they trailed 2-0 after just twenty minutes. Quincy Promes gave the Netherlands a glimmer of hope when he pulled a goal back with five minutes left and then Virgil Van Dijk became the hero with an injury time equaliser.

Not only did Van Dijk earn a draw for his nation, he also condemned Germany to relegation and took the Netherlands to the top of the group thanks to head to head goal difference between them and the French.

Head to Head

The last competitive meeting between these nations came in the group stage of Euro ’96 at Wembley Stadium, when the SAS pairing of Alan Shearer and Teddy Sheringham led England to a famous 4-1 victory.

Since then, the sides have met in eight friendly matches. The Netherlands have won three, there have been four draws and England have one just the one. But, that victory for England was the most recent meeting in March 2018.

Team News

England manager Gareth Southgate will have a decision to make regarding Liverpool and Tottenham players, after they featured in the Champions League Final this past weekend. It is likely most will be fit for action, but there is likely to be some rotation.

One player who is likely to miss out is Harry Kane. The striker looked extremely short of match fitness during that Champions League match and he will probably start on the bench for his country.

The Champions League Final may have an impact on the Netherlands team as well, with key players Virgil Van Dijk and Georginio Wijnaldum doubtful due to their exertions in Liverpool’s victory.

Those two players are the only doubts for the Dutch and it should be expected that one or both will appear at some stage of this Semi Final.

Betting Odds

England are a slight betting favourite for the win, despite the fact they may be without up to seven players depending on fitness levels. Betfair have the English priced at 29/20 in the match result market, with Netherlands at 21/10, and the draw priced at 11/5.

The draw looks to be a fantastic price with 50% of the last eight meetings ending level, and the fact that matches between the two are often close affairs. In fact, the last three meetings have been won by a single goal margin and a match coming at the end of a gruelling season should be close.

To qualify for the final, including after extra time and/or penalties, England are priced at 8/11 and Netherlands are 11/10.

Click here for extensive betting markets, more detailed odds, and in-play options for this UEFA Nations League Semi Final.

 

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