England aims for a second successive Euro final appearance

The Three Lions of England will face the Oranjes of Netherlands on Wednesday as both teams meet in the second semifinal of the Euro 2024 championship in Germany, with the Three Lions of England looking to capitalize on their recent wins in the last two knockout games.

Gareth Southgate saw his side finish second behind Italy in the last edition, and he is hoping to see them reach another final in Germany, but they will have to beat the Netherlands. England started the competition very slow and needed extra time to beat Slovakia in the round of 16 while Bukayo Saka’s brilliance and an inspiring penalty shootout saw them beat Switzerland in the quarterfinal

Southgate admitted that the English team has been under pressure since the start of the tournament but believes that they have now adjusted to the pressure and will strive to make history.

“One of our strengths over the years has been having less fear and showing less inhibition. But at the beginning of the tournament, the expectation weighed heavily, and the noise from outside had never been louder.” Southgate said.

England will have one defender back as Luke Shaw has returned to fitness while also still stating his readiness to feature if called on. However, the manager stated that he is always looking at the freshness and the balance of the team before deciding if changes made will bring an improvement to the team or not.

He also revealed that the direction of the game will be a big determinant for some of the decisions for the team. 

Meanwhile, the Netherlands team has been more direct with their results than the English team, having completed their knockout fixtures on a regular basis. The Dutch beat Romania 3-0 in the round of 16 while moving past ten-man Turkey 2-1 in the quarterfinal.