A familiar shade of orange will greet England in Dortmund after the Netherlands came from behind to extinguish the Turkish fire in Berlin.
Not the most bright orange. In truth, it was a rather typical orange. But Ronald Koeman’s team has a fighting spirit and a determination to accept defeat that is working for them, and they have every right to believe England is no better.
They also have history on their side, since the Dutch have only lost once to England in competitive football.
That took place at Wembley Stadium during Euro 1996. Gareth Southgate will remember it clearly. He might even tell his players about that one. Koeman might opt to restart the qualifying for the 1994 World Cup.
‘It will be a fantastic night on Wednesday between two historically significant nations,’ Koeman added.
The Netherlands secured their place in the Euro 2024 semi-finals by defeating Turkey on Saturday.
Ronald Koeman’s team came from behind, scoring twice in six minutes, to upset Turkey.
Defender Stefan de Vrij ignited the comeback with his powerful header in the 70th minute.
Then, shortly after, Turkey wing-back Mert Muldur unintentionally steered the ball into his goal.
England has not fired in Germany, but they have no reason to be afraid of opponents who have been transformed with the introduction of Wout Weghorst. Koeman’s team was far more cohesive, with Weghorst leading the line in the second half, giving a focal point for their attacking energy.
Cody Gakpo dragged the Netherlands’ messy winner home by diving in to force Denzel Dumfries’ low cross across the line at the back post, surprising Turkey wing-back Mert Muldur, who got the final touch and claimed he had been fouled.
The referees did not intervene, and the Dutch dug in to maintain their lead through a frantic final period of desperate defending that included a crucial clearance by Micky van de Ven and an outstanding late save by Bart Verbruggen to stop Cenk Tosun.
‘One step closer, now we need to work against England,’ said skipper Virgil van Dijk. ‘We started well but got sloppy. Fortunately, we did not give any more out. In the second half, we needed to remain calm and take our chances.
It was heartbreak for Turkey, who had been in the driving seat for the majority of the contest.
Samet Akaydin put Turkey ahead with a fantastic header in the first half at the Olympiastadion.
