MX23RW : Monday, November 25 07:49:02| >> :120:29343:29343:

England set for Dutch showdown in Portugal

England set for Dutch showdown in Portugal
© Reuters
Nations League draw has been made in Dublin.

England will face Holland in the Nations League semi-final next summer.

Gareth Southgate's men qualified for the last four of the inaugural tournament with a late victory over Croatia last month, topping a group which also included Spain.

The tie will be played in Guimaraes in Portugal on June 6.

Hosts Portugal will play Switzerland in the other last-four tie on June 5 in Porto, with the final and third-place play-off taking place on June 9.

Southgate now knows the route his side must take to get their hands on a trophy next summer as he looks to build on the impressive run to the World Cup semi-final.

Their clash with Holland, managed by Ronald Koeman, will be the first competitive meeting between the sides since Euro 96, when Southgate played in a memorable 4-1 win for the Three Lions.

Portugal or Switzerland would await in the final, both teams England played in Euro 2004, which was also held in Portugal.

England were heading out of the Nations League and towards relegation to the second tier until the final 12 minutes of the group stages.

A topsy-turvy campaign saw the Three Lions, Croatia and Spain all grapple for qualification and with Croatia leading 1-0 at Wembley in the final match the odds were against England.

But late goals from Jesse Lingard and Harry Kane sent Southgate's men through to the final as group winners.

Southgate says England have been pitted against a team who are at a similar stage to his own.

"We have really enjoyed the tournament, the Nations League has been a great success," the Three Lions boss said.

"The quality of matches for us for our development has been exceptional. We are now looking forward to the semi-finals, four very good teams.

"We play a team in Holland who are at a similar stage to us, developing, lots of exciting young players in both sides and you can see the impact Ronald has had.

"It's a very exciting game to look forward to and for us a second semi-final. We have a bit longer to prepare for this one, so we are looking forward to the
summer."

ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'});
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By Press Association Sport Staff');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', 'cdad974c-b215-44a3-887d-8c87b44abeb4');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:sport,paservice:sport:club-news,paservice:sport:football,paservice:sport:uk,paservice:sport:world');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', 'sport:football');
ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': 'England set for Dutch showdown in Portugal'});

ID:343248: cacheID:343248:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:6421:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Eric Dier in action during the Nations League group game between England and Croatia on November 18, 2018
Read Next:
Kosovo prepare to welcome England for "biggest ever" match
>
Read more about Gareth Southgate Football
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool1210112481631
2Manchester CityMan City127232217523
3Chelsea126422314922
4Arsenal126422112922
5Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton126422116522
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs1261527131419
7Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest125431513219
8Aston Villa125431919019
9Newcastle UnitedNewcastle115331311218
10Fulham125341717018
11Brentford125252222017
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd124441313016
13Bournemouth124351617-115
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham113351319-612
15Everton122551017-711
16Leicester CityLeicester122461523-810
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves122372028-89
18Ipswich TownIpswich121651323-109
19Crystal Palace121561017-78
20Southampton121110924-154


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!