FULL TIME: Holland 3-0 England
And that’s that. Semi-final heartbreak for the Lionesses. But they didn’t lose this game. The Netherlands won it. And so the brilliant Dutch make it through to Sunday’s final against Denmark. It’s their first Euro final, and they’ll be looking to become only the third host nation to win the European Championship, after Norway and Germany. As for England? No third Euro final for them, but they’re making a habit of going deep into the major events now, and can be very proud of their performances in this tournament, performances which thrilled a nation. Difficult to bear now, but once the pain subsides they’ll look back on a wonderful campaign, all of which augurs well for the 2019 World Cup.
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GOAL: Holland 3-0 England (Bright og 90+3)
With the whistle about to blow, Holland are suddenly racing goalwards, three on two. The ball breaks to Martens on the left. She shoots from a tight angle, and the ball deflects into the top left off a tired leg hung out by Bright. England were second best tonight, but they didn’t deserve to lose by three.
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90 min +1: Kirby sends a speculative effort over the crossbar. van de Donk, scorer of the match-sealing goal, is afforded an ovation as she’s replaced by Roord.
90 min: There will be two minutes of added time. More semaphore shapes by a livid Sampson, who can’t believe there aren’t four minutes to come. Hope he’s packed a few extra shirts.
89 min: van de Sanden is replaced by Jansen. England win another corner down the right, but this one only results in a quick Dutch break, Chamberlain forced to race miles from her area to batter the ball into the stand.
88 min: White chases down a lost cause along the right flank. She outpaces and outmuscles van Es, but her powerful rising shot, heading towards the top right, is turned round the post. And from Carney’s corner, Duggan sweeps a first-time shot towards the bottom right from 12 yards, only to see Spitse clear off the line for the second time tonight!
86 min: England are struggling to get hold of the ball right now. When it does come loose, the Netherlands are onto it like flashes.
84 min: The hosts win a corner down the right, but the amount of players they commit to the set piece speaks volumes. They’ve been exceptional in this second half, calm, clever and considered at every turn.
82 min: Taylor carves out an opportunity for herself with a brilliant on-a-sixpence turn down the inside right. She beats Zeeman all ends up, and is clear in the area! But van Veenendaal parries strongly, and then Zeeman returns to block Taylor’s second shot from a tighter angle. The resulting corner is dealt with easily enough. Was that England’s last chance to get back into this game?
81 min: Duggan, on the left-hand corner of the Holland area, swivels and looks to lash a stunner into the top right. She can’t quite connect properly.
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79 min: England are seeing most of the ball here, but doing very little with it. The hosts happy to hold their shape, and hold it firmly.
77 min: A free kick for England, 25 yards out, just to the right of goal. Houghton goes for the spectacular, but it’s well off target. Relief for the Netherlands, whose area was densely populated.
76 min: England send on Carney for Moore.
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75 min: Groenen is bundled over down the right, with the hosts playing keep-ball. The free kick is looped into the box and half-cleared. Miedema twists and attempts a screaming volley from the left of the D. Nope.
73 min: Bronze dribbles in from the right, then goes over as she enters the area. The referee isn’t having any of it, and replays show the England full-back went over very easily before she met up with Spitse.
72 min: Nobbs has been relentless and impressive. She quarterbacks a ball into the Dutch area from deep on the right. It very nearly drops to Taylor, but van Veenendaal races through a crowd to punch positively away from danger. Holland counter through Miedema down the inside-left channel. She twists and turns before belting a shot goalwards from the left-hand edge of the D. Chamberlain gets behind it and claims.
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70 min: The hosts make their first swap, Zeeman coming on for van der Gragt.
68 min: England so nearly get themselves back in this semi-final! Kirby, dropping deep, pitching wedges a lovely ball down the inside-right channel which releases White, who had been loitering on the shoulder of Dekker. White is free, and van Veenendaal, rushing from her goal, isn’t going to reach the ball first. But though White scoops over the keeper, she can only send her effort wide right of the unguarded goal.
67 min: England make their first change, the unfortunate Williams sacrificed for Duggan.
66 min: Nobbs’s delivery is clapped clear by Dekker. England try to set another move in motion, but Moore’s long ball forward is easily gathered by van Veenendaal.
65 min: Corner. Game of head tennis. Another corner coming up.
64 min: Once again, England respond well to conceding. Stokes bursts with great speed and purpose down the left, reaching the byline and hooking a dangerous cross into the area. van der Gragt is forced to head over the crossbar. England corner.
GOAL! Holland 2-0 England (van de Donk 62)
Calamity for Fara Williams! Under no pressure whatsoever, 30 yards from her own goal, Williams heads back towards her own area, hoping Chamberlain will collect. But she’s not the last woman, with team-mates behind her. And van de Donk is lurking. The Dutch midfielder nips in ahead of Houghton down the inside-left channel and into the area, and dinks a finish over Chamberlain. It settles softly in the empty net, and England are really up against it now. Holland have only conceded once in this tournament so far!
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61 min: Groenen skedaddles down the right and fires a low cross into the middle towards Miedema. But Bright steps in calmly to guide the ball back towards Chamberlain. The Dutch aren’t committing too many players forward, and who can blame them?
59 min: van de Donk is booked for a hilariously cynical check on Bronze, who was trying to make good down the right. England pack the box but nothing comes of the free kick.
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58 min: Eh, scrub that! The busy Kirby makes good down the inside-left channel and breaks into the box. She pings the ball inside for White, but it doesn’t reach. van der Gragt looks to hoick clear, but the ball clatters straight into White, and the rebound nearly flies into the bottom left! van Veenendaal does very well indeed to gather with some quick reactions.
57 min: Something of a lull, which will suit Holland. England’s early second-half spurt has fizzled out suddenly.
55 min: Nobbs comes down on van der Gragt’s foot. It didn’t look deliberate, but that was a full and firm plant on the top of the boot, and will have hurt some. Ooyah, oof.
53 min: Taylor probes down the right, hoping to release Nobbs. The pass is dangerous enough to force van der Gragt into conceding a corner. From the set piece, Groenen tries to instigate a quick break, Nobbs having sent in an uncharacteristically poor set piece. But England are back in numbers soon enough, and the danger is snuffed out.
51 min: Now it’s England’s turn to make a meal of clearing the ball. It’s lost to van de Sanden, who lashes a shot towards the bottom left from the right-hand corner of the D. Chamberlain is behind it all the way, and parries with a strong arm. You know that old cliche about the next goal being so important? Well, that.
50 min: van Veenendaal only half clears under pressure from Taylor. White tries to loop it back with interest from distance, but doesn’t get enough purchase on the ball.
48 min: From the resulting free kick, van Lunteren has a dig from 25 yards. It’s wild and high. England go straight up the other end, Taylor turning just outside the area and unleashing a daisycutter which is gathered by van Veenendaal and was probably going wide anyway.
47 min: There have been a couple of soft bookings in this game, but Moore can have no complaints about this one, pointlessly coming through the back of van de Donk with extreme prejudice. That was in the middle of the park, with Holland going nowhere.
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And we’re off again! No changes yet, though Christiansen was hovering on the touchline desperate to come on for England, having warmed up vigorously during the break. England kick off, kick long, and cause a bit of bother in the Dutch box, Williams hoicking high into the area from the right. van Veenendaal punches clear from a crowded area with purpose.
And some more half-time reading: Here’s an excerpt from Carrie Dunn’s wonderfully entertaining and highly informative The Roar of the Lionesses, her state-of-the-nation address in the wake of England’s memorable showing at the 2015 World Cup.
Half-time viewing: Here’s Alex Bellos and Ben Lyttleton explaining why the Dutch wear orange kits when there is no orange in their flag, part of Football School, a series of books written to encourage children’s literacy and to help them learn though the prism of football.
Half-time reading: Here’s how the great Danes got to the final less than an hour ago.
HALF TIME: Holland 1-0 England
And that’s that for the first half. Both teams spent a little time in the ascendancy, but it was only the hosts who managed to take full advantage. England came close, though, and hope is far from lost. It promises to be a captivating second half.
45 min: Holland haven’t exactly been relentless in attack, but then they’re leading, so they don’t need to be. Martens makes a little room down the left and hoicks a cross towards the goalscorer Miedema, but Houghton steps in calmly to power a header clear.
43 min: Nobbs has a dig from the best part of 30 yards. It’s swerving all over the place, finally deciding to fly towards the top right. But van Veenendaal is all over it.
41 min: In fact, Sampson was so livid that he ripped the back of his tight white shirt while throwing his arms about in the semaphore style. To be fair, he immediately recognises the humour in the situation, and smiles sheepishly as he pulls on his blazer.
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39 min: England loudly claim a penalty as Bronze crosses from the right. White is under the ball, contemplating a header, and is gently nudged in the back by van Lunteren. It would have been terribly soft, but you’ve seen them given. To be fair, the claims quieten down rather quickly, though on the touchline Mark Sampson hops around in disbelief, like Jordan Spieth on the 13th tee at Birkdale the other week.
38 min: Nobbs, in from the right and looking to playmake, clips a clever first-time ball down the inside-left channel and very nearly releases Kirby into the area. van Veenendaal slides out to smother.
37 min: Kirby dances her way down the right and scoops a cross into the area, looking for Taylor in the centre. Dekker again deals with the situation in hand.
35 min: A single oranje balloon floats across the pitch. One of the loudest cheers of the evening so far as Dekker stamps on it. The home fans in party mood right now.
33 min: Bronze sashays in from the right and goes for the big blooter. It’s wild, high and to the right of the target. But that’s another determined run from the brilliant right-back. She’s causing panic in the Dutch back line whenever she turns the jets on.
32 min: Groenen is doing what she does so well, dropping deep and quarterbacking attacks. She works herself a lot of space in the heart of the England half, and has Martens in an awful lot of room to her left. For once, though her pass isn’t so perfect and precious momentum is lost. England breathe again; going two down against a team who have only conceded one in this tournament would be quite the test.
30 min: That period of England bounce-back has quietened the crowd a tad. A dangerous enough passage of play to plant a few seeds of doubt. You’d not know the hosts were leading right now. “I can’t fault the goal, but it may help,” writes Hubert O’Hearn. “We’d been a bit conservative in the Robby Di Matteo/Champions League style, but opening things up a tad I think lends itself to the England team’s natural urge to attack. Besides, I’d called this 3-2 so who’s to say which comes first, the 3 or the 2?”
28 min: England have responded well to going behind. A free kick out on the right, and a chance for them to load the box. Which they do, but Houghton tries to surprise van Veenendaal in the Netherlands goal by looking to whip one over the wall and into the top right. It’s wide and high, but not by much.
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26 min: Good work by Kirby and White earns England a corner down the left. Nobbs takes, and finds the head of Moore on the penalty spot. Moore sends a superb header towards the bottom left. It’s flying in, surely. But Spitse is on the line, guarding the post, and deflects the ball onto the woodwork by hanging out a leg. That’s a stunning reflex stop. Not sure how the ball clanked outwards off the post and away from danger, but this is where we are.
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24 min: England have been a little tentative going forward so far, so Bronze takes matters into her own hands, powering down the middle and breaking through a couple of tackles before reaching the Dutch box. She thinks about shooting, but the angle’s a little prohibitive, so instead she rolls it right towards Taylor. The striker can’t get it out from under her feet, and lays it off to Kirby, who lifts a shot over the bar from the edge of the area. For a second it looked like Bronze was about to single-handedly haul England level. But that’s much better from England.
GOAL! Holland 1-0 England (Miedema 22)
This had been coming. And it’s so simple. More space for Groenen down the right. She loops a gorgeous cross towards the far post. Miedema rises on the left-hand corner of the six-yard box, and plants a glorious header across Chamberlain and into the bottom right. That was an unstoppable header!
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19 min: And they continue to look threatening. The Groenen-van de Sanden combination opens England up down the right again. A cross is looped into the mixer and half cleared, but van de Donk takes it down on the edge of the D and attempts a looper into the top left corner. It clears the bar by some distance. But that’s got the home crowd going.
18 min: After a lull, Holland suddenly spring down the right. Groenen rakes a pass along the touchline. Stokes slams her clearance into van de Sanden, who is first to the rebound and zips towards the byline. Her cross isn’t all that, and cleared by England, but suddenly the hosts looked threatening.
15 min: Oh this is ludicrous. England’s free kick is pumped into the box, and leads to a corner on the right. Nobbs sends it in, and it’s easily plucked from the sky by van Veenendaal. As the keeper goes to throw the ball upfield, Bright, racing back to her position, clumsily knocks into her. Again, nothing sinister, but out comes the yellow card. Each team now has a defender treading on eggshells for next to nothing. Have the many travails of Howard Webb taught us nothing?
13 min: The first booking of the game, and it’s a harsh one, van Lunteren penalised for a late clip on White, who had turned her neatly down the England left. It was a foul, for sure, but clumsy rather than sinister.
12 min: Miedema, on the edge of the England box, tries to play a ball round the corner to release Martens. Not quite. England are struggling to keep hold of the ball right now.
10 min: van Lunteren strikes a glorious Hollywood pass down the right wing from a very deep position, and very nearly releases van de Sanden into a lot of space. But Stokes is wise to the grift, comes across, takes charge of the ball and holds her line. van de Sanden’s never getting in ahead of her, and eventually resorts to a shove in the back. Danger snuffed out with minimum fuss. Wonderful defending by Stokes.
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8 min: Holland are seeing more of the ball in these early exchanges, though it’s all a bit scrappy. Miedema tries to tame the ball on the left-hand edge of the England D, in the hope of getting this match’s first shot away. But this is full-throttle stuff and Houghton isn’t having any of that notion.
6 min: Moore, conducting from deep, nearly releases White down the inside-left channel with a fine pass, but Dekker reads the play and is quickly over to snuff out the danger.
4 min: Good work by van de Sanden down the right, as she cuts inside, then swivels and turns back towards the flank before rolling a pass down the wing for Groenen. Stokes is there to intercept. Then there’s a slightly nervous hack upfield by Chamberlain, Martens briefly threatening to return it with troublesome intent. But neither team are truly settled yet, and passes aren’t sticking. Early semi-final nerves in full effect.
2 min: Taylor very nearly gets on the end of a speculative ball down the inside-right channel, but no. Holland make sure this end-to-end start continues when van Lunteren sprays a pass down the right in the hope of finding van de Sanden. Not quite.
Denmark have beaten Austria 3-0 in the other semi, by the way. Danish (Ms) Dynamite. Who will they meet in the final? Well, we’ll soon find out, because the hosts have just kicked off! The ball’s launched long towards the right-hand corner flag. And out into touch it flies. England fly straight upfield through Nobbs out on the right. She’s got Taylor in the middle but the cross is wild and out for a goal kick. A lively start by England.
Here come the teams! It’s an aesthetic delight, Holland in their famous oranje, England in their equally storied white. Sherida Spitse and Steph Houghton lead their team-mates out. And if there was a roof on this stadium, it’d be coptering somewhere over Finland right now. A pause for a respectful warble of God Save the Queen, then a rowdy roar through the Wilhelmus. And finally we’re back to the collective status of bedlam. We’ll be off in a minute! Euro 2017 semi-final action coming up right here!
There is a storming atmosphere at the FC Twente Stadion in Enschede ahead of this semi. A packed-to-capacity 30,000 crowd, the vast majority bedecked in oranje. The lionesses will certainly be up against it in terms of support, but it’s important to stress just how upbeat Mark Sampson was in that interview. He repeatedly stressed how ready his players are for the upcoming test, and how confident they feel in their ability to quieten the crowd. Still, a few shivers down the spine are only natural on occasions like this. There’s nothing quite like a major international tournament, is there?
England coach Mark Sampson speaks! And he’s a study in positivity. “The players are excited, it’s obviously a big game for us. These are the games you want to be involved in. We’ve prepared incredibly well over the last couple of days, the players know exactly what they need to do, and they’re going to do it. These are the occasions where this team excel, they’ve been at their best when the pressure’s been at its most. We expect the same today, we’re excited, we can’t wait. The players are raring to go!”
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The Netherlands, Holland and the Dutch name the same starting XI sent out against Sweden in the quarters. But England are forced into a couple of changes to the team named against France last time round. Goalkeeper Karen Bardsley suffered a broken leg in that game, while all-action midfielder Jill Scott picked up a second yellow card of the tournament and is suspended. Siobhan Chamberlain takes over goal, while England’s most capped player, Fara Williams, takes Scott’s berth in the middle of the park.
The teams
Holland: van Veenendaal, van Lunteren, Dekker, van der Gragt, van Es, Groenen, van de Donk, Spitse, van de Sanden, Miedema, Martens.
Subs: van den Berg, Roord, Jansen, Folkertsma, Christ, Zeeman, Lewerissa, van den Bulk, Janssen, Beerensteyn, van der Most, Geurts.
England: Chamberlain, Bronze, Houghton, Bright, Stokes, Williams, Moore, Nobbs, Kirby, White, Taylor.
Subs: Potter, Christiansen, Stoney, Carney, Bassett, Parris, Duggan, Greenwood, Telford, Scott.
Referee: Stéphanie Frappart (France).
Style guide
JERRY: What do you mean, ‘what is it?’ It’s a country right next to Belgium.
GEORGE: No, that’s the Netherlands.
JERRY: Holland is the Netherlands.
GEORGE: Then who are the Dutch?
According to the Guardian style guide, Holland “should not be used to mean the Netherlands (of which it is a region), with the exception of the Dutch football team, who are conventionally known as Holland”. So there you have it. Hup Holland Hup!
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Preamble
We’ve been here before, of course. In 1984, England reached the semi-finals of Uefa’s brand new European competition for women, the European Competition for Women’s Football. Neither the snappiest nor most imaginatively named tournament, granted, but football fans moan when the marketing goons get too heavily involved, so let’s cut the administrators a little slack for once.
Anyway, England emerged triumphant from that tie, goals from Linda Curl, Elisabeth Deighan and Debbie Bampton enough to see off Denmark in a two-legged affair. Martin Reagan’s team would go on to lose the final on penalties to Sweden at Kenilworth Road after a 1-1 aggregate draw, Curl scoring England’s goal but going on to miss a spot kick. A very English tradition, some very English heartbreak.
Reagan and his side nearly made it to the final again three years later, when Kerry Davis put England ahead in their semi against Sweden. But two goals from Gunilla Axen - 127 goals in 125 matches for her club Gideonsbergs! - put paid to that particular dream.
By 1995, Uefa apparatchiks had rebranded their competition as the Uefa Women’s Championship, and England reached the last four once more. This time Ted Copeland’s team were sent packing 6-2 on aggregate by the all-conquering Germany of Birgit Prinz, Karen Farley’s goals never enough.
Then in 2009, England reached their fourth European semi-final. Hope Powell’s entertaining side - Kelly Smith, Jill Scott, Karen Carney, all that - beat the Netherlands, Scott snaffling a dramatic winner with four minutes of extra time remaining. A rampant Germany dished out a 6-2 lesson in the final, but in fairness that wasn’t really the point. Powell’s team exceeded expectations that year, and the many highs of her reign - which also included two groundbreaking quarter-final appearances at the World Cup - laid the foundations for today’s successes, both of the international team and the Women’s Super League. An epochal era, right there, the sport finally getting the respect it’s deserved ever since Dick, Kerr used to pack out Goodison in the early 1920s.
So here we are, a fifth semi-final appearance in the Euros for England. And once again they face the Netherlands. The Dutch are hosting, have 30,000 cheering them on, and boast in winger Lieke Martens an enigmatic Cruyff-turning talent. But Martens will be facing right-back Lucy Bronze, who is world class herself. The dangerous Dutch striker Vivianne Miedema goes up against England’s parsimonious centre-back pairing Steph Houghton and Millie Bright. And will Netherlands midfielder Jackie Groenen impose herself on the game again, as has been her wont during this tournament, or will Jodie Taylor make off with the plaudits, adding to the five goals she’s already scored in England’s campaign?
Potential duels aplenty; a classic could be on the cards. Will the home heroes make it to their first Euro final? Or can England - the tournament favourites now - reach their third? It’s a sell-out in Enschede! It’s the semi-final of the European Championships! It’s on!!!
Kick off: 8.45pm in the Netherlands, 7.45pm back in Blighty.
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