Spain look to build on their terrific form when they take on France in the first semi final in Munich.
Spain progressed through to the final four after defeating host nation Germany 2-1, with Mikel Merino heading the winning goal home in the 119th minute of play + extra time.
Alternatively, France snuck through on penalties against Portugal, after both sides failed to find the back of the net across 120 minutes of action.
France have now gone five games without one of their players scoring from open play, going to show just how valuable defence is in major tournaments.
Meanwhile, Spain has score a tournament high, 11 goals, with Dani Olmo (2G,2A), Fabian Ruiz (2G,2A), Lamine Yamal (3A), and Nico Williams (1G,1A) all doing damage at the top of the pitch.
Spain has collected wins against Croatia (3-0), Italy (1-0), and Germany (2-1), proving they have the quality on both ends of the pitch to defeat World Class opponents.
I’m backing La Roja to see off Les Bleus in regular time.
The 2nd semi finals will see the Netherland square off against England on Thursday morning (AEST) in Dortmund.
The Oranje endured a tough start to their Euro 2024 campaign, finishing 3rd behind Austria and France in the group stage, before finding their stride in the round of 16 against Romania, running out 3-0 victors, building on that momentum in the quarterfinal, with a 2-1 victory of Turkey in regular time.
Alternatively, the Three Lions remain unbeaten in their run, though they have only won one fixture in regular time, a gritty 1-0 victory over Serbia on match day one, otherwise, they have leaned on their defensive might to wear down their opponents.
Fresh legs could play a factor in this fixture, with England playing out 240+ minutes of action across their Round of 16 and Quarterfinal matchups, while the Netherlands got the job done during regular time in both their knockout games.
Eight English players have played over 452 minutes this tournament, with Rice, Walker, Stones & Pickford all playing a tournament-high 510 minutes, meanwhile no Dutch player has spent over 450 minutes on the pitch.
I think England’s luck is due to run out, I can’t see them holding out this improving Dutch outfit for 90 minutes, and I can’t see them generating enough chances to score more than once during regular time.
I’m taking the Netherlands to progress through to their first Euro Final since 1988.