England Under-21s take on the Netherlands in the semi-final of the U21 European Championship on Wednesday evening.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the clash:
Kick-off time
5pm UK time
How to watch in the UK
TV channel: Channel 4
Injuries and suspensions
England: Morton (suspended)
Netherlands: Rensch (suspended), Taylor (suspended), van Bommel (suspended)
Recent form
Despite a mixed group stage which saw them win one, draw one and lose one, England were exceptional in their 3-1 win against Spain on Saturday to make it to the semi-finals.
Lee Carsley’s side pressed, fought for loose balls and were determined to be first to every challenge, resulting in an early two-goal lead.
The inclusion of Jay Stansfield allowed the Young Lions to play with a main focal point up front, with the Birmingham City man leading the high press.
Michael Reizinger’s Netherlands struck late to send Portugal packing, courtesy of impact sub Ernest Poku.
The Jong Oranje were limited to 10 men from the 21st minute after Ruben van Bommel was sent off, but were strong enough defensively to prevent Portugal from taking advantage.
Predicted line-ups
England (4-2-2-2): Beadle; Livramento, Cresswell, Quansah, Hinshelwood; Scott, Anderson; McAtee, Elliott; Stansfield, Rowe
Netherlands (4-3-3): Roefs; Maatsen, Hato, van den Berg, Kasanwirjo; Flamingo, Valente, Milambo; Poku, van Bergen, Manhoef
What’s been said?
England Under-21s head coach Lee Carsley shared his admiration for Netherlands’ style of play and how tough it is to beat them, but acknowledged that his side is ready to take on the challenge.
“They’re a tough game,” he said. “They’re very attacking, very expansive in the way that they play, technically very good.
“I really love the system that they play as well, very similar to the Spanish, the way that they play. We expect a really tough game. We’re fully prepared for it.
“We spoke about making sure that the Spain game can’t be the highlight of our competition andour tournament. So the players are really determined. We’ve had a good couple of daystraining, so we’re looking forward to the game now.”
Midfielder Alex Scott recognises the difficulties of playing in high temperatures, but claims that he and his teammates will not let the weather affect their performance.
“Of course it’s tough,” he said. “I think we’re not used to it back home in England, but we’ve got thequality to push through the heat.
“We’ve got everything in place to help us get through it in terms of hydrating and everyone here at England helps us massively with that sort of stuff.
“So I wouldn’t say it affects us too much and we’re definitely ready to go and we’ve experienced it a few times already in the tournament.”
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