The Uefa Nations League semi-final fixtures have been decided.
England will play the Netherlands in Guimaraes while Portugal host Switzerland in Porto. The European champions play their game on Wednesday June 5 with the Three Lions in action the following day. The final and third-place play-off will take place on Sunday June 9.
Here's how the draw played out:
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the Uefa Nations League semi-final draw from Dublin.
England, Netherlands, Portugal and Switzerland will learn their opponents this afternoon. The draw will decide the two pairings with the first game being played on Wednesday June 5 and the other the following day. The final and third-place play-off will take place on Sunday June 9.
We will have the latest for you right here.
Let's take a closer look at each of the semi-finalists heading to Porto next summer. First up, it's England:
The Uefa Nations League rapidly became a defining period for the identity of Gareth Southgate's side in the post-World Cup era. After a tense stalemate against Croatia behind-closed-doors in Rijeka, and the strange interlude of Wayne Rooney's international farewell, England produced their best performance under the new manager in Spain to run out 3-0 victors. Fresh faces such as Jadon Sancho and Harry Winks have added a further youthful vibrancy and then came the cathartic reversal of the tragic World Cup semi-final in Kazan when England scored twice in the last fifteen minutes at Wembley to secure their spot in the semi-finals.
Switzerland looked all but out of the Uefa Nations League knockout stages, needing to defeat Belgium in the final game of the group to win a place in the semi-finals.
The fixture arrived just four days after Switzerland had suffered an embarrassing 1-0 defeat in a friendly to Qatar. Yet Vladimir Petković's side pulled off a historic upset in Lucerne against the World Cup semi-finalists, inspired by a Haris Seferovic hat-trick and Liverpool's Xherdan Shaqiri to run out rampant 5-2 victors, clinching their summer spot in Portugal.
Portugal's final group game of the Uefa Nations League wasn't just to decide who would go on to the semi-finals but who would host them. Having defeated Italy and Poland, despite missing Cristiano Ronaldo, they only needed to draw in their final game to qualify for the knockout rounds. Yet after going down to ten-men against Poland, they were forced to survive a tense finale before successfully securing the tournament's placement in Porto.
A rejuvenated Netherlands, having missed out on the World Cup, finally returned to former heights during the Nations League group stage. After losing to France in their opening fixture, Ronald Koeman's side smashed Germany 3-0 before beating France in the reverse fixture to supersede the World Cup winners and win an unlikely place in Portugal.
So we've got less than an hour to go until we find out who England will face in the semi-finals. The fixtures are as follows:
The semi-finals will take place on the 5 and 6 June at Porto's Estádio do Dragão and the Estádio D. Afonso Henriques in Guimaraes.
The final and third-place playoff will take place on 9 June.
Here's a reminder of how the groups panned out:
The semi-finals will operate under usual Uefa format, going to a 30 minute period of extra-time if drawn where a fourth substitution is permitted before a penalty shootout.
The draw will be hosted by former Tottenham and Republic of Ireland striker Robbie Keane who announced his retirement from the sport five days ago after a 23-year career which included over 500 appearances and 251 goals.
Switzerland scored 14 goals in their four group games - 6 more than Netherlands, 8 more than England and 9 more than Portugal.
Each of the four teams have already earned €1.5m for their participation as well as an extra €750,000 for winning their respective Nations League groups. However, those prizes will now increase dramatically in Porto.
And here's the story behind the tournament's beautiful trophy:
The stage is set. Just ten minutes to go.
Robbie Keane is getting in position as we prepare to get underway in Dublin.
And Phil Townsend, UEFA’s managing director of communications, begins the presentation by recalling the feats of the four countries who've made it to the semi-finals.
And now Equal Game Ambassador Gary Messett has joined Townsend on stage who will be helping with the draw.
He's joined by recently retired Robbie Keane who will also help to make the draw.
I think the Nations League has been a huge success. Playing for your country is always great but it just gives it a bit more of a competitive edge. It's been great.
And finally Giorgio Marchetti, UEFA’s Deputy General Secretary, is introduced to explain the draw.
Semi-final 1:
Portugal vs Switzerland
Semi-final 2:
Netherlands vs England
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