England came one step closer to bringing it home, getting a huge 2-1 semifinals victory over the Netherlands at the UEFA Euro 2024 tournament. With the win, England advances to the Euro Finals for the second time in a row.
The game got off to a fast and exciting start, with a banger from 21-year-old Dutch midfielder Xavi Simons to open the scoring in the seventh minute. But it didn’t take long for England to equalize, after captain Harry Kane drew a penalty kick and buried it in the 18th minute to put England on the board.
England nearly took the lead just five minutes later, but Dutch defender Denzel Dumfries — who caused the PK — made up for his earlier blunder with a massive save at the goalline. Behind Dumfries’s heroics, the Netherlands was able to keep things tied up through halftime.
The second half, on the other hand, was a bit more subdued as the Netherlands and England traded control of the ball. England seemingly had the winning goal in the 79th minute, but it was ruled offsides.
Ollie Watkins broke the stalemate in the 90th minute, scoring a beautiful goal to give England the lead in the last minutes of play.
England has notably never won the Euros, despite the team’s best efforts. The closest it got was at the Covid-delayed Euro 2020, where England advanced to the Final before ultimately falling to Italy in penalties.
England will now play Spain on Sunday in an attempt to earn the Euro championship that has so far eluded the team.
Source Agencies
