The Netherlands are preparing to face England in the semi-finals of the European Championship. National coach Ronald Koeman surprised a bit in the quarter-final against Turkey by sticking with Steven Bergwijn on the right wing. Football area Donyell Malen is expected to be selected this time for several reasons. The semi-final in Dortmund starts at 9:00 p.m. and can be watched online Non-profit 1.
The Orange formation is fixed at the back. Bart Verbruggen is the undisputed first-choice player under the bar and will see the trusted names ahead of him in defence: Denzel Dumfries, Stefan de Vrij, Virgil van Dijk and Nathan Ake.
Gerdy Schouten and Tijani Reynders also seem certain of their place in central midfield. This is a little less true for Xavi Simons, due to the convincing replacement for Wout Weghorst again. But everything indicates that Coman will stick with Memphis Depay as striker, so there will be no substitution in the No. 10 and Simons will keep his place.
Koeman explained in a press conference on Monday that Memphis is his striker. “Everyone has their opinion and says something. But I am the one who tests the players every day and sees things in training that others don't see.” The attacking captain is assisted on the left by Cody Gakpo.
The right wing position is where there are the most doubts. After his two goals, Malen looked set to start as a substitute against Romania against Turkey, but nothing could be further from the truth. Bergwijn has once again earned the national coach's trust. It remains to be seen whether that will also be the case against England.
The match will be played at Borussia Dortmund's Signal Iduna Park, where Malen has been a valuable force for many years. Furthermore, England manager Gareth Southgate seems to be sticking with a 3-4-2-1 formation. Exploiting the spaces behind the English midfield seems to be Malen's job, given his superior pace compared to Bergwijn.
England
On the English side, Marc Guehi returns from suspension and could return to the starting line-up, which would be at the expense of Ezri Konsa. Sky Sports Furthermore, Kieran Trippier is expected to be preferred at left-back over Luke Shaw, who, given the fact that he only returned against Switzerland after injury, there are doubts as to whether he can handle ninety minutes.
Possible lineup for the Orange: Bridge; Dumfries, De Vrij, Van Dijk, Ake; Schouten, Simmons, Reinders; Malen, Memphis, Gakpo.
England predicted lineup: Pickford; Walker, Stones, Guehi; Saka, Rice, Mainoo, Trippier; Foden, Bellingham; Kane.
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