England vs Netherlands LIVE: Team news and lineups as Southgate ...

Perhaps it is a revolution you wish had not been televised, but that doesn’t mean that England’s developement at this tournament should be overlooked. Richard Jolly makes the case for the defence:

Around the England camp, the players know not to even indulge the idea that Euro 2024 has handed them a “forgiving draw”. Gareth Southgate has already bristled at the idea in press conferences, so it’s easy to imagine the attitude with the squad.

But, as Miguel Delaney explores, there’s far more than just the “luck of the draw” behind England’s recent tournament success.

England can count on a little bit of inside knowledge with their very own Dutchman in camp, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink having been drilling the marksmen in Germany as one of Gareth Southgate’s assistants.

England take on the Netherlands tonight looking to reach a second successive European Championship final.

It will be the sixth time England’s men have played in the semi-finals of a major tournament, not including the 1968 European Championship when only four teams qualified for the finals.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at how England got on in their previous last-four encounters:

The new prime minister, an avid Arsenal fan, will be unable to watch one of his favourite players Bukayo Saka and his team mates take on the Dutch on Wednesday for the right to play Spain in Sunday’s final.

Worse still, Sir Keir’s phone will be taken off him for security reasons as he joins other Nato leaders for talks on Ukraine at the Nato summit in Washington DC.

Gareth Southgate says England’s players are ready to make history, having overcome external noise, the weight of expectation and a fear of failure to reach another European Championship semi-final.

After topping their group in unconvincing fashion, the Euro 2020 runners-up needed a stunning Jude Bellingham strike to save their blushes against Slovakia before beating Switzerland on penalties.

England are now preparing for a third semi-final in four major tournaments, with the Netherlands standing between them and a second successive Euros final.

“You’re now into that moment in the tournament where it’s what’s possible, what’s achievable, rather than what might go wrong,” boss Southgate said.

Harry Kane has declared he is “getting better and sharper”, saying he has become accustomed to “question marks over my fitness or my form” throughout his career ahead of England’s Euro 2024 semi-final against the Netherlands.

England’s campaign has seen constant discussion over the captain’s physical condition, with another early substitution against Switzerland leading to calls that Ivan Toney comes in for Wednesday’s semi-final in Dortmund.

Kane came into the tournament after picking up a back injury during the final weeks of the season with Bayern Munich, and there have been questions over whether he has been able to press to the level required for England’s gameplan.

Ahead of facing the Netherlands, the striker dismissed such concerns as typical of the noise around the campaign, and insisted he is ready to start while pointing to a wider role in the team.

“It’s something I’ve got used to throughout my career,” Kane said. ”I think there are always going to be times... especially if you look over the last couple of major tournaments, there’s always been at some stage question marks over my fitness or my form.”

With the Euro 2024 semi-final between England and Netherlands just hours away, keep up to date with the latest — from team news, fixture details, analysis and more.

Gareth Southgate says England are ready to make history by reaching a first final on foreign soil, having been inhibited earlier in the Euros by expectations and louder external noise than ever before.

After topping their group in unconvincing fashion, the Euro 2020 runners-up needed a stunning Jude Bellingham strike to save their blushes against Slovakia before beating Switzerland on penalties.

England are now preparing for a third semi-final in four major tournaments, with Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands standing between them and a second successive European Championship final.

Southgate has been criticised for his team’s style despite getting this far and the manager revealed the negative mood around the team impacted the players during the group stage.