England U21 v Netherlands U21

The first of the EURO U21 semi finals sees England take on the Netherlands in Slovakia, with both sides taking contrasting routes to the final four. England were quite flat in the group stages, winning just one of their three games and finishing second in the group behind Germany. However, they did manage to recover and put in the performance of the tournament in the quarter finals to see off favourites Spain by a 3-1 scoreline. 

The Netherlands had a pretty dramatic quarter final against Portugal in which they were reduced to 10 men in the first half and survived a penalty which struck the post. They then managed to cut through Portugal with one long ball which Poku tucked away to set up an intriguing semi final against England. 

⭐ England U21 v Netherlands U21 Predictions and Best Bets

This has the makings of a really close tie between two sides that have shown different types of resilience to reach this stage of the competition. England showed that they can go toe to toe with the elite nations in a competitive environment through their win against Spain, a feat still yet to be mastered by the senior side. Netherlands showed that they can overcome adversity in battling through their quarter final with 10 men for most of the encounter - neither side will give up in their pursuit of being in the final. 

Jay Stansfield made a real difference for England against Spain as it gave Lee Carsley’s side an outlet which they were missing in the group games. He was actually more important for his work off the ball in the fixture, tracking back to help out England and constantly keeping the centre backs of Spain occupied. 

Ernest Poku is also a player worth keeping an eye on for the Netherlands, he has scored two crucial goals at the tournament so far to keep the Dutch in the competition and should be rewarded with a start here. 

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England U21 Form + Trends

Lee Carsley has the perfect experience in the latter stages of these knockout competitions having led England to the trophy back in 2023. It seems he has got his England team to peak at the right time after their 3-1 victory over Spain which followed a group stage campaign which was pretty underwhelming and left many skeptical as to whether England could compete with the more complete nations in the tournament. 

England have a stacked squad which has the ability to turnover any nation, even the three sides left in France, Germany and Netherlands would struggle to match England’s quality and their depth, which could start to prove crucial in the latter stages of the competition. 

Harvey Elliot has been a standout performer for the Three Lions, netting twice in the competition so far - one of which came against Spain in the quarter finals. Elliot can continue to be a threat here with the added motivation of putting himself in the shop window as he has been linked with a move away from Liverpool this summer. 

🇳🇱 Netherlands U21 Form + Trends

The Netherlands have had a really strange tournament so far but may be motivated by the fortune they’ve had so far to go on and lift the trophy. The Dutch entered the tournament with one of the best records in qualifying but struggled to get out of their group, winning just one of their games against Ukraine, Denmark and Finland. 

Their quarter final tie against Portugal was just as hectic, they were reduced to 10 men in the first half and survived a penalty which struck the post. Remarkably, the Dutch managed to withstand the Portuguese onslaught and scored right at the death after Ernest Poku was put through on goal by Ian Maatsen. 

The result will have reinforced the resilience of the Dutch but England will be looking at their results and performances in the group stages which should fill the Three Lions with optimism heading into this semi final clash. 

📊 England U21 v Netherlands U21 Head-to-Head Key Stats

The most recent meeting between these sides was a friendly in November 2024 which ended in a 1-1 draw. There really isn’t much between the sides, even in the head to head records - three of the four meetings between the sides since 2017 have ended in draws. 

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* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing.