Debates have begun ahead of England’s Euro 2019 semi-final clash with the Netherlands, with Dutch pundits deriding the Three Lions’ football as “barely worth watching” and criticising fans’ “overconfidence”.
Gareth Southgate has been labelled the “most criticised manager” at Euro 2024 by a… Dutch football magazinedespite having managed to lead England to a third semi-final of the tournament.
The England manager’s approach has been “ultra-conservative”, he says, relying on the opinions of data analysts in an effort to keep clean sheets rather than score goals.
Meanwhile, England fans may be outnumbered by their rivals in the stands at Wednesday night’s game as they scramble to secure last-minute tickets amid rising prices.
On top of this, the Netherlands could enjoy territorial advantage in Dortmund, with the Westfalenstadion’s ‘Yellow Wall’ set to turn orange thanks to UEFA’s ticket allocation.
Netherlands fans celebrate after winning the UEFA EURO 2024 quarter-final football match between Netherlands and Turkey at the Olympiastadion in Berlin on July 6.
Gareth Southgate has been labelled the ‘most criticised manager’ at Euro 2024
Dutch authorities have estimated that between 75,000 and 80,000 people will make the journey across the border to Germany.
The south stand of Borussia Dortmund’s stadium becomes a sound wall during home games and now half of the area has been allocated to fans of the Dutch team, while the rest is on sale to the general public.
While England fans will be seated in the Green Wall area, thousands of Oranje supporters will be crowded into the privileged stands.
At many of the Netherlands’ matches during the tournament, the host city has been packed with Dutch fans filling the fan zones in their iconic orange livery and showing their support with their famous side-to-side chant.
England fans have also dared to dream and have flocked to Germany to support their team during what has been a largely uninspiring performance.
‘The story of England in most footballing summers: overconfidence, followed by an early exit,’ writes Dutch football journalist Peter Zwart.
‘Southgate has dealt harshly with all forms of naivety in England. The fact that football is barely visible does not concern him. Indeed, that is the direct result of his tactical plan.’
Meanwhile, the players are waging a war of words, with Spurs centre-back Micky Van de Ven smiling as he told reporters at a news conference that he is quicker than England winger Bukayo Saka.
The Dutch Lion will be hungry for victory, having last reached the final of the tournament in 2010.
The Netherlands could enjoy territorial advantage in Dortmund, with the ‘yellow wall’ at the Westfalenstadion set to turn orange thanks to UEFA’s allocation of tickets.
“It’s uncomfortable to say that about yourself,” Van de Ven said. “But if you look at the data, you have the answer.”
Netherlands star player Cody Gakpo backed his teammate, saying: ‘Micky is the fastest in the Premier League.‘
As for England’s tactics, the Liverpool striker said: “They play very defensively. They have a lot of quality, but they play defensively.”
Gakpo added of the squad, many of whose members are Premier League team-mates: “They really have a fantastic group, I hope it will be a good game.”
Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands beat Turkey 2-1 in Berlin to advance to the semi-finals against the Three Lions as both teams look to reach the final on July 14.
Micky Van de Ven smiled as he told reporters at a news conference that he is quicker than England winger Bukayo Saka.
The Dutch Lions will be hungry for victory, having last reached the final of the tournament in 2010.
English fans are expected to be outnumbered, with officials estimating that 60 per cent of the supporters will be from the Dutch fan army known as Het Legioen – ‘The Legion’.
Dutch authorities have estimated that between 75,000 and 80,000 people will make the journey across the border into Germany, with fans able to reach Dortmund in less than two hours if travelling by car from Eindhoven.
Meanwhile, 30,000 England fans are expected to travel to North Rhine-Westphalia as ticket, accommodation and flight prices rise in line with growing demand.