Netherlands – England: Southgate’s Super Sub Sinks The Dutch (1-2)
England had to come from behind after Xavi Simons’ early strike, but were able to control the game with midfield overloads in the first half. Ronald Koeman found a change in order to tighten up his midfield, but Gareth Southgate’s late introduction of Ollie Watkins proved decisive, as his strike sent England to the final.
Tactical analysis and match report by Josh Manley.
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The Netherlands and England both arrived to this semi-final having faced tactical issues throughout the tournament. Most recently, the Dutch came from behind against Türkiye having struggled to create chances for most of the game, while England needed penalties to overcome Switzerland, although they did put in an improved performance compared to their early tournament games.
Ronald Koeman’s side started in a 4-2-3-1 shape, with a back four of Denzel Dumfries, Stefan de Vrij, Virgil van Dijk, and Nathan Aké. Jerdy Schouten and Tijjani Reijnders were the central midfielders, with Donyell Malen and Cody Gakpo out wide. Xavi Simons then started behind Memphis Depay up front.
Gareth Southgate meanwhile stuck with the 3-4-3 formation that had seen some improvement against Switzerland. Kyle Walker and John Stones were in the back three alongside Marc Guéhi who returned from suspension to replace Ezri Konsa. Bukayo Saka and Kieran Trippier were the wing-backs, with Kobbie Mainoo and Declan Rice partnering in central midfield. Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham then played as number tens behind Harry Kane.
England’s midfield domination
The Dutch were able to take an early lead in the game thanks to Simons’ long-range strike, but the lead lasted only ten minutes as Kane was able to equalize from the penalty spot. The main trend of the first half, however, was the struggles that the Dutch faced in midfield against England.
Koeman’s side defended in a 4-2-3-1 shape with a somewhat man-oriented approach, particularly in midfield areas. This created a problem for Schouten and Reijnders though, as England’s box midfield of Mainoo, Rice, Foden and Bellingham were relatively fluid and were able to drift from their starting positions to create overloads.
An example from the 21st minute of the Netherlands’ midfield issues. Schouten is forced deep by marking Bellingham, Reijnders is isolated against Mainoo and Foden, and England can easily play through the Dutch pressing.
Rice mostly played from a deeper position in the left halfspace, while Mainoo had license to rotate with Foden in the right halfspace and move into more advanced areas. Bellingham started from the left halfspace but sometimes drifted wider on the left. England’s nominal back three often turned into a back four in possession, as Walker was quite active on the right side in supporting Saka with forward runs.
The core problem for the Netherlands was that their midfield often became disorganized and uncompact due to the central midfielders trying to mark the movements of England’s midfield unit while also being outnumbered.
This dynamic gave England excellent control of the game, as the Netherlands were driven back to their own box. Koeman’s side took a reactive approach against England without the ball, which allowed Southgate’s side to have the majority of possession throughout the match.
Koeman adds a midfielder
Ten minutes before half-time, Memphis was forced off due to injury, and was replaced by Joey Veerman. This may have been a blessing in disguise for the Netherlands, as it gave Koeman a chance to address the midfield issues.
Malen now moved up front, and Simons to the right side. The Netherlands now played in a 4-3-3 shape with Veerman as the extra midfielder. Veerman played a relatively flexible role, taking up marking assignments slightly in advance of Schouten and Reijnders, often against Mainoo. This allowed Schouten and Reijnders to focus more clearly on Foden and Bellingham and prevent them from receiving between the lines.
Overall, the introduction of Veerman helped solidify a Netherlands midfield which had previously been extremely porous. They were now not so overwhelmed by England’s midfield overloads, with the game becoming much cagier in the second half as a result.
England’s adjusted pressing
The Dutch often tried to shift to a back three when they had the ball, with Aké alongside Van Dijk and De Vrij, and Dumfries pushing up on the right side. Veerman often pushed up around the left halfspace when the Dutch had the ball, while Simons tended to play around the right halfspace.
Against this setup, England had a couple of different defensive schemes. When England were pressing in the Dutch half, Saka took an interesting role, as he would invert into midfield, closer to Veerman.
This was coupled with Mainoo pushing forward into a number ten position to pressure the Netherlands’ defensive midfielders. This gave England an interesting arrangement, where they essentially made a temporary 4-2-3-1 shape with Saka and Rice in a double-pivot.
Saka often indented when England pressed, with Mainoo pressuring the Dutch defensive midfielders.
When defending deeper, England returned to a 5-4-1 formation with Saka as right wing-back. This shape was quite solid and compact, denying the Netherlands any real chances from their possession phases in open play.
Southgate’s impact substitution
Both managers decided to make changes at half-time, with Wout Weghorst replacing Malen as the Netherlands’ striker, while Luke Shaw was introduced for England in place of Trippier.
The introduction of Shaw made sense, as England have clearly been crying out for a natural left-sided presence all tournament. With Shaw returning to fitness, England gain a new dimension in their attacking play, and he was able to show a couple of classy attacking contributions in the second half.
After this though, there would be no more substitutions until the final ten minutes, as Southgate continues to show a preference for keeping his cards close to his chest and saving substitutes for later in the game.
Koeman’s successful attempt to fix his midfield issues had brought the game into something of a stalemate for most of the second half. England had most of the ball, but did not manage a shot at goal in the entire half until the final minutes. The Netherlands created a couple of shots in this period, but the game remained deadlocked.
With ten minutes remaining Southgate made his changes, bringing Cole Palmer and Ollie Watkins on for Foden and Kane. Watkins’ willingness to run into the channels adds a different dimension to Kane, and the impact of this was felt in stoppage time, as Watkins latched onto Palmer’s pass and struck a low shot past Bart Verbruggen, sending England into the final.
Takeaways
The Netherlands had big problems in midfield during the first half, where their defensive scheme was outplayed by England’s midfield overloads. Koeman was able to find an adjustment to bring the game back to relative equality though, and they were able to limit England to very little attacking play until Watkins’ late goal.
England played their best game of the tournament so far, especially in the first half where they were very much in control. The switch to a 3-4-3 system with the more natural positioning of Foden has proved beneficial. Mainoo was impressive once again in midfield, and Shaw’s continuing return to fitness gives England a welcome boost on the left side. The final against Spain will pose a very different challenge to this game though, and Southgate’s side will have to show serious defensive resilience in order to bring the trophy home.
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