This euro's semi finals are to provide some mouth-watering clashes between the titans of European football, tournament favourites Spain vs France and Nederland's vs back to back semi finalists England.
lets kicks this off with Spain v France predictions.... Spain are going into this semi being the only team in the tournament to win all 5 of their games as well as scoring the most goals joint first with Germany, and France are heading into it having not scored a single goal from open play, yet still finding a way to reach their 3rd semi final in 4 major comps which is impressive as it shows they have the experience and the players to claw through rounds.
We are going to see some changes to Spain's team with Carvajal being suspended due to a red card and Pedri going off only 4 minutes into the last round vs tournament hosts Germany with a knee injury, with the replacements more than likely going to be Dani Olmo who has been a real joy to watch when he's been given the nod, scoring back to back in the previous two games, the last one coming after he replaced the injured Pedri, and the 38 year old Jesus Navas who is more than likely at his last big tournament.
With so such speed and youth on the wings having Lamine Yamal and Nico William's who have 1 goal, 4 assists between them, Spain need to stick to what they've been doing all competition, quick passing and getting it out wide to let their young boys shine. In my opinion if they do that, one of the chances they provide for Morata or Olmo or themselves, will go in, and at this high level one goal could be enough.
France are looking very unpredictable right now, only scoring 3 goals up until this round doesn't fill me with confidence, even though they have the likes of Saliba, Kante and Mbappe i feel like they will get out-done by Spain with how confident they are at the minute. France better hope Mbappe recreates his world cup 2022 final form if they want to reach another final.
Prediction France 0--1 Spain
England vs Nederland's predictions... I think England v Nederland's will be a tight game, with both teams scraping through the last round having gone behind they will both have to step up and show their quality.
Southgate opted for a 3 at the back in England's last game vs Switzerland and it could be perceived as their best performance so far with Kobe Mainoo getting his second start of the tournament, he seemed to bring some control and harmony to the midfield linking it better with the attack and building up play quicker which is well needed after the lack of goals and slow build up. It could also be the game for Palmer to pick up space in the pockets and play balls in behind for Jude and co, or Gordon to stretch the Dutch's defence. There are a few England players who need to find their club form quickly before its too late.
Ronald Koeman's team being in the semi finals might come as a sunrise to some, but with their young flair and experienced winners at the back, I had a suspicion they might drag their way through, and they they did with a late comeback vs Turkey. The Netherlands have ran with a 4-2-3-1 in the last two games but changed the midfield slightly when adding Weghorst by dropping Depay deeper next to Simons. One of Netherlands hopes will be how well Cody Gakpo has been playing with 3 goals and one assist he could do some damage against some club colleagues. I think it will be a tight game, but England will just edge it possibly in as late as extra time due to their goal drought because of the little bit more quality they have, however i do think whoever wins the midfield battle has a really good chance of creating cracks in the oppositions defence from second balls or fast paced passing.
Prediction England 2---1 Netherlands
Becky
Stats from uefa.com
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