Semi-Final England v Netherlands
These teams meet in Dortmund on Wednesday, 10 July, at eight pm GMT.
The last time these two teams met in the Nations League's 2019 semi-finals, the Netherlands triumphed with a 3-1 victory. However, a lot has changed in the last five years. Frankie De Jung was injured in pre-tournament training, meaning the Netherlands is missing a key player in their midfield. ⅝ last meetings between these two teams finished at standard time level. England has already had to play extra time in the last two games. This could be a blessing and a curse; they have had to play more minutes, and the fatigue will be higher, but they have also had to maintain that high level of performance for long and had more game time to gel as a team and have player rotation.
England has been dominant in getting far in competitions in recent years, but this is the Dutch's first Euro semi-final since 2004. This encounter is called a “historic night”. The English defender Ezri Konsa, who stepped up in the quarterfinals after Marc Guehi was serving a one-match ban, said: “If we continue to show spirit and togetherness, I'm sure we can go to the very end and win it all.” There is unlikely to be any changes in the lines up with Marc Guehi coming back into the fold. Unlike England, the Netherlands did not win their group. It only qualified as the best third-place position while only getting in front of Turkey due to its own goal, so on paper, the tournament looks more favourable for England, but that is not always the case.
But the controversy is more about the ref of choice. With this being a crucial game in football, with England at the forefront, why would they put all the power on a ref with a history of matching fixing? So, saying this is the England fans getting their excuses in early for a possible shocking performance. This is not the point. If he did it once and got away with it with only a six-month ban, what is stopping him from doing it again? Also, it doesn't take much to bribe him, with only 250 pounds being taken.
To make matters worse, he refereed an essential game in the Bundesliga league 2021 between title rivals Dortmund and Byarn Munich, in which the referee made some controversial decisions. This led to Jude Bellinghma's comment on why a man convicted and investigated for match-fixing should be referring to the most crucial game in the league. He has a fair point. This led to the midfield being fined 34,000 pounds. This is a stupid, reckless mistake. Uefa put a ref who has a historically lousy relationship with a high-profile player in the game history, and actions speak more than words. Also, it is considered dangerous for the whole official team in Germany. It would be best to have multiple nationalities instead of a country decision-making team, especially one that does not have the most excellent fondest relationship with the England Football team. Though some are arguing that this scandal of match-fixing was 20 years ago, that does not mean he could not do it again; it should be that if you have been found committing such a crime, you should never ref a match again as you have destroyed your reputation and reliability to perform your duties to the standards required. Yes, we are human and make mistakes, but this was done in the public eye, and the public prosecution should speak for itself. Uefa, however, does not see the controversy and biased nature of this decision of refs and, therefore, has no plans to replace Zwayer. It seems Uefa will do a lot to ensure England does not work and embarrass themselves in the process. One can only think Zwayer should keep his head down in the game and make no controversial decision, as the English media will slaughter him as his match-fixing has already given them enough ammunition.
With the tournament heating, so is the controversy and scandal; with England's innings penalty, everyone is celebrating the likes of Saka and Trent Alexander Arnold. However, these are two players who have experienced constant criticism and racial abuse by England Fans. Some are saying Racists are just waiting for Black players to issue a penalty of concede and are waiting to play the card “ go back to where you came from”. Their race would have nothing to do with their position in taking a penalty, but ⅘ the takers were not white. They were not chosen on that fact. They were chosen as they were one on the pitch and two were the best in training. Southgate knew they were up to the task.
There is more news in defending the likes of Phil Foden, who has come under more criticism and questions about whether he can play if Pep Guardiola does not manage him. The main issue can be seen as the lack of a left-footed left-back. With Luke Shaw finally back to full fitness and getting some minutes against Switzerland, one would hope he would come into the starting 11 in the semi-final to get Phil Foden more into the game on that left-hand side. Micah Richards, an ex-Manchester City player, says that Southgate's techniques and game style don't work or utilise Foden's abilities, which is true. Still, he needs to adapt himself, and Luke Shaw back would help who has been cleared and fit and ready to play 90 minutes.
But Foden has never been as good for England as for City in his international career, and the goal difference proves that it is not just this tournament alone.
After the excitement and thrill of winning that penalty shootout, one would hope the players take that and help them drive and dominate against the Netherlands and prove themselves.
England seems to get all the criticism for their play this tournament, but the Netherlands only got to the semi-finals in an OG. France has yet to score in open play, and no English fan or media is pointing out how lucky they are and how they should not have made it out of the group stage of their performance, which was worse than England. England has got this far on their merit and skill. Yes, that skill is not up to the level we expect and coming last minute ditch attempt, but we have not made it to this point on penalties in standard time or goals but by our ability to dig deep and find that winning streak.
The better news for the pubs is they will be allowed to be open until 1 am after the semi, which is only good if England wins and they can celebrate.
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