The Guardian

Euro 2024: countdown to Spain v France and Netherlands v England semi-finals – live

By Xaymaca Awoyungbo (earlier) and David Tindall (now),

5 hours ago

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3jQ3z8_0uIcLn0r00 — Cody Gakpo arrives to speak to the media in the buildup to the semi-final with England. Photograph: Hollandse Hoogte/REX/Shutterstock

1.35pm BST

England in semi-finals. Are they any good? Well, the record is mixed although it’s a losing one overall. And, erm, the only wins were at Wembley.

1966 World Cup: England 2 Portugal 1
1990 World Cup: West Germany 1 England 1 (WG won 4-3 on pens)
1990 Euros: Germany 1 England 1 (Germany won 6-5 on pens)
2018 World Cup: Croatia 2-1 England (after extra time)
2020 Euros: England 2 Denmark 1 (after extra time)

1.25pm BST

Famous people called Felix. There’s the cat and also Brazil’s rather ropey goalkeeper from their legendary 1970 team. Oh, and Magath although Fulham fans won’t want reminding. But there’s another one in town and this Felix has history with Jude Bellingham (looks to camera as dramatic music plays). This from PA Media.

A German referee who was banned over his part in a match-fixing scandal and who has a history with Jude Bellingham will take charge of England’s Euro 2024 semi-final against the Netherlands on Wednesday.

Felix Zwayer, 43, was given a six-month ban by his country’s football federation in 2006, having worked as an assistant referee alongside Robert Hoyzer.

Zwayer was one of the officials who brought Hoyzer’s match-fixing plot to light, with the relatively short duration of Zwayer’s ban a recognition of that contribution. Hoyzer was banned for life.

England midfielder Bellingham was fined by the German federation after he referenced Zwayer’s involvement in that scandal after a defeat for his old club Borussia Dortmund against Bayern Munich in 2021.

Zwayer will lead an all-German officiating team at Wednesday’s match in Dortmund which also includes his assistants Stefan Lupp and Marco Achmuller, plus VAR Bastian Dankert.

It will be the second time Zwayer has overseen a match involving the Dutch, having also refereed their last-16 victory over Romania.

Before that Zwayer took charge of Italy’s opening match against Albania and Portugal’s win over Turkey in the second round of group matches.

1.14pm BST

I was trying some Ivan Toney penalties before. I mean, it is possible to keep striking the ball solidly but I’m not sure I’d do it well enough to stick it in the corner past a world-class goalkeeper. I’m quite good at pinging it against a wall five yards away though.

1.08pm BST

Thanks Xaymaca. More soon on England v Netherlands: the battle to see who loses to Spain in the final.

1.04pm BST

That’s all from me on this live blog. I’m handing over to David Tindall.

1.02pm BST

Rodri will also play a key role in his nation’s semi-final. Find out more about the Spanish midfielder here.

12.48pm BST

PA news agency reported on how Mainoo’s childhood football coach, Steve Vare, had to challenge the midfielder because he was better than the other players at his local club, Cheadle and Gatley. “We had to find ways to challenge him. We put some rules in games where he could only score with his left foot, he had to pass to a team-mate, all sorts of different things just to challenge and develop him. The drills were far too easy for him, we were fizzing passes to him and chipping them in. I would have to load all the best players onto the opposing team just to make it a challenge for him. At the end of the session we used to hand out trophies and I told him he’d win one every week but we have to share them out. Some boys or girls might have reacted differently but Kobbie always understood. He knew how good he was.”

12.44pm BST

The midfield battle between England and the Netherlands will be intriguing. Kobbie Mainoo has been a standout performer in an often disjointed midfield.

12.35pm BST

The Netherlands beat Turkey in a thrilling quarter-final. Turkey gave a good account of themselves and might feel hard done by the 2-1 defeat. The Turkey manager, Vincenzo Montella, said: “I think we are among the top five in the European Championship . We are proud that we have gained an identity by feeling our whole country behind us and adopting our strategy. Our players should be kissed on the forehead. We should be really proud: we have come this far, but could have achieved even more.”

12.11pm BST

The Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman also spoke to the press about their semi-final with England. “For the whole nation it is something special,” Koeman said, reflecting on the fact that the Netherlands had not reached a Euros semi-final since 2004. “We are a small nation and to be part of the semi-finals with England, France and Spain we are really proud to get the opportunity.”

12.04pm BST

Cody Gakpo, who plays for Liverpool, said given the quality of players in the England setup he hoped for a really good game on Wednesday.
Gakpo, 25, moved to the Premier League two seasons ago with mixed results, having been forced to play in a variety of attacking roles, but at Euro 2024 has clearly shown he is best on the left wing. His three goals make him the tournament’s joint top scorer.
“I was a left wing before (moving to Liverpool) and that’s always been my preference but over the last one and a half years, the coach needed me to play somewhere else and I tried to do my best at it.” The move to England had made him a better player, he added. “I think a lot of changed in my life, moving country to Liverpool, a big big club, amazing club, amazing fans and very, very good players surrounding me as well.
“I learnt a lot from the manager (Jurgen Klopp). That progressed me a lot as a person and as a player. I’m very happy with the move I made.”

Courtesy of Reuters.

Updated at 12.05pm BST

11.59am BST

Micky van de Ven spoke to the press before the Netherlands game against England.

“If you see the quality of the players from both teams, I think you can expect that the level and the rhythm of the game will be really high,” Van de Ven told a press conference.
“Hopefully, it’s us that will have more of the ball than England so that it is England who do the running, but I expect a high intensity game,” said the Tottenham Hotspur defender, who has been used only as a substitute in Germany.
“We understand they have taken a lot of flak from the English media but they are in the semi-finals * that says all it needs to about the English team. I think they play defensively but we will go and analysis them properly tonight, but what I can say is they have a lot of quality.”

Courtesy of Reuters.

Updated at 12.04pm BST

11.54am BST

It would be easier to list the things that are working for Les Bleus at this tournament rather than the ones that aren’t, but Didier Deschamps will not care. His team are through to the semi-finals after defeating Portugal on penalties after another rather disjointed display. The midfield is not working, Antoine Griezmann is out of form and Kylian Mbappé is struggling with his broken nose and other fitness issues. Deschamps said: “For different reasons, Antoine and Kylian are not at the top of what they can do but we are through. We are a group, the collective strength is still there.” Ousmane Dembélé made a positive impact from the bench and may well start against Spain.

Updated at 11.54am BST

11.47am BST

France were disappointing in their quarter-final victory against Portugal. Didier Deschamps’ team needed penalties to save us from another snoozefest to add to their EURO 2024 collection. France seem to be competing with England to see who can play the most boring football. They are in fourth place in our EURO 2024 power rankings.

Updated at 11.47am BST

11.38am BST

Yes, I was surprised Michael Oliver didn’t book Nuno Mendes for diving. I’m not sure if the Portugal left-back is aware that the Olympics will start in a couple of weeks. There will be ample time for diving then.

11.33am BST

Message from Oliver here:

I was watching the Portugal/France match the other day and Nuno Mendes took a dive so obvious that the referee just ignored his claims for a penalty and pointed for a goal kick.

Why wasn’t he punished appropriately with a yellow card? It was glaringly obvious on replay that there was no contact involved, and the law of the game states that an attempt to deceive an official should result in a booking.

If there’s a real want and need to stop diving happening, shouldn’t players be punished for it?

11.32am BST

Sid Lowe questions “whether Cucurella may swap wings to deal with Kylian Mbappé; that it is even asked says something about the faith they have in him now, the sense that if anyone can do a job, he can.” Mbappé hasn’t had much of an impact thus far so Cucurella may fancy his chances.

Updated at 11.32am BST

11.25am BST

And now this flying, all action full-back, seemingly everywhere. There has been no combination at the competition like his with Nico Williams , a relationship based on a chemistry he believes is found off the pitch more than on it. “You don’t even have to look for it,” Cucurella says. “We have similar personalities and we like messing about, joking; it’s all happy, enjoyable. I know he will do the best he can for me and he knows that if he makes a mistake, I’ll be there. His job’s to attack and mine is to defend. We fit well together. If he feels I’m covering him, then Nico can do great things for our team. When [players like him] are confident they’re decisive. My role is to get the ball and let him play. I’m here for whatever he needs.”

11.23am BST

Spain’s left-back, Marc Cucurella, has been something of revelation for the national side. His inclusion in the starting XI might have raised eyebrows before the tournament, especially in a nation that has Alejandro Grimaldo and José Gayà as options, but he’s excelled so far.

Interactive

Updated at 11.37am BST

11.19am BST

Away from England, Spain face France in Tuesday’s semi-final.

11.17am BST

Such is Kane’s poaching ability that Southgate would be right to select him for that alone, never mind the leadership, or the game intelligence, or the tournament experience. But if he is not secretly injured, and if England’s ability to enact the approach designed to get the best out of all their flair players continues to improve, as it did against Switzerland, it may not be wise to back against Kane making his mark once again, this time against the Netherlands.

11.14am BST

Paul MacInnes presents a different opinion in his article. Check it out here.

11.14am BST

Harry Kane wasn’t on the field during the shootout after he was subbed off for ice cold Ivan Toney in extra time. He hasn’t had a great tournament so far and I wonder if he should be dropped for the Brentford striker. Kane has been picking up the ball too deep and he’s getting in the way of Bellingham and Phil Foden, rather than getting into the box to score more tap-ins. Of course he’s an excellent finisher but his overall game needs to improve for Wednesday.

11.04am BST

Phil Campbell and his friends had travelled from Nottingham for the game and recalled the “bedlam” and “carnage” that followed Bukayo Saka’s thrilling strike that drew England back into the match with 10 minutes remaining. “At one point my resting heart rate was 150,” Campbell said. “Watching the game, seeing England win on penalties, it was a bucket-list thing. There’s lots of people at home jealous of us being out here. I think tickets were going for £400 before the match but we wouldn’t have sold them for anything.”

11.03am BST

Yet we can all agree that we’re happy to see England reach this stage of the tournament despite some poor performances.

10.57am BST

The line up of penalty takers was significant after the EURO 2020 final. Each of the penalty takers has Black heritage. A fact that caused a stir on Twitter.

10.30am BST

Jude Bellingham spoke to the press about the work that took place behind the scenes.

“I was really confident in my preparation, confident in the things I talked through with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink – he’s stepped up for us massively,” Bellingham told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Football Daily. “It’s the work that he does behind closed doors, with the lads being willing to take on that information, that put us in those situations in order to be able to win.

“So this is a massive team effort. Another thing is Dean Henderson, Aaron Ramsdale, Tom Heaton, who have been with us this camp, they’ve been huge in helping us practise the penalties. Again, they won’t get the credit they deserve but essentially, if they don’t put in the right effort, you don’t have the right practice to go out and execute.”

10.24am BST

The penalty shootout was the only part of England’s game that appeared to be planned.

10.18am BST

England are left doing it on the hoof. Trent Alexander-Arnold! No, Conor Gallagher! Errr, let’s try Kobbie Mainoo. A back four? Let’s give a back three a go, but not really a back three. Oh God, we’re 1-0 down with 15 minutes left. All of you creative lads, on! 3-1-5-1, whatever! Somebody, just do a moment of brilliance! Thanks, Bukayo.

10.16am BST

Is it luck or has Gareth Southgate has created the perfect environment for England’s success? Hmm, I think we have an article about that.

10.13am BST

I found myself questioning whether Gareth Southgate is a genius or the luckiest manager in England’s history. I was calling for him to make a change throughout the second half and within minutes of his triple substitution, England equalised.

Updated at 10.17am BST

10.07am BST

This England team is often accused of being lucky, even when there are stats and numbers to support its processes. Here are some more. England goalkeepers saved two penalties in shootouts between 1990 and 2012. Pickford has saved four out of 14 faced since 2018. This is cause and effect in action. It’s skill, planning and a lesson in how to win; which certainly makes a change from baffled and tear-stained defeat.

Updated at 10.09am BST

10.05am BST

Pickford’s water bottle played a deciding role in the shootout.

Updated at 10.06am BST

10.02am BST

Jordan Pickford also had a big hand (literally) in England’s victory. His penalty save from Manuel Akanji was the difference between England and Switzerland.

Updated at 10.02am BST

9.54am BST

Three years on from the racist abuse Saka received after his penalty against Italy and about three weeks on from seeing his face plastered over back pages after England’s loss to Iceland, most people are just happy to see Saka smiling.

Interactive

Updated at 9.56am BST

9.53am BST

Read more about Saka’s defiant performance here.

9.46am BST

Saka is a player you just love to see have these moments, to smile, to remind you – in between running and working and covering because he is the most assiduous of modern footballers – that this is still at bottom a matter of play, joy, fun and invention. And he deserves this too, because football has been hard on Saka.

Updated at 10.08am BST

9.45am BST

Almost everything England did well on against Switzerland came through Bukayo Saka. He rose to the occasion to get England back into the game with an equaliser on 80 minutes. He also stepped up to score a penalty just three years after the infamous EURO 2020 final against Italy.

Updated at 9.48am BST

9.25am BST

You can read more about the EURO 2024 media coverage here.

9.22am BST

Watching England v Switzerland, I couldn’t help but think that the pendulum has swung the other way with regard to criticism of the team. England were better organised on Saturday than previous games but they still looked unbalanced with most of their joy coming down the right hand side. Yet at half time I got the sense that the BBC told the pundits to get behind the team. Save the real criticism for The Rest Is Football podcast.

9.07am BST

Gareth Southgate spoke about the criticism he’s received throughout the tournament.

“I can’t deny that some of the personal nature, you know … ,” he said. “This is a job where you get ridiculed, and your professional capability is questioned beyond belief, and I don’t think it’s normal to have beer thrown at you either.

“But I’m fortunate that my life’s taken me through a lot of resilience-building and it’s made me more determined and I’m just using it as fuel. I know where I want to take the team to. The team need to see me strong in those moments as well, otherwise that messaging that you’re giving them on what they need to be, it doesn’t ring true.”

Updated at 9.38am BST

9.03am BST

England had gone 20 years without reaching a semi-final before Southgate took over in 2016. Since reaching the last four of the 2018 World Cup, they have lost to Italy on penalties in the Euro 2020 final and fallen to France in the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup.

Updated at 10.34am BST

9.02am BST

EURO 2024 could be Gareth Southgate’s last hurrah. While his tactics during the tournament have been questionable, his overall record for England is not.

8.39am BST

Preamble

Hello and welcome to this EURO 2024 live blog.

Are you getting your hopes up yet? I know England have played dreadfully but their Euros campaign has the makings of a warm and uplifting TV film. Let’s consider all the elements so far:

We’ve got the man who writes his own scripts, Jude Bellingham, as the protagonist; we’ve got the loveable underdog, Bukayo Saka, fresh from an incredible comeback; and we’ve got the antagonists, the media, whose criticism is fuelling England’s success. Not to mention, the sun is shining and we have a new government. So, maybe we should be (cautiously) hopeful.

Keep refreshing this page for the latest updates from the England camp as well as all the build up to Spain v France and Netherlands v England in the semi-finals.

Euro 2024: countdown to Spain v France and Netherlands v England semi-finals – live

Preamble

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