Jong Oranje will play against titleholder England on Wednesday in the semi-finals of the European U-21 Championship in Slovakia. The English defeated Spain in the quarter-finals with 1-3 on Saturday.
Young England was already leading after fifteen minutes with 0-2 through goals from James McAtee and Harvey Elliott. The English had escaped a penalty after two minutes, when Charlie Cresswell got the ball on his arm.
The referee did whistle for a penalty, but reversed it after an intervention by the VAR. Half an hour later, he still awarded a penalty to Spain, but that was after a foul by Jarell Quansah, who is coveted by Erik ten Hag’s Bayer Leverkusen. Javi Guerra scored.
England held on in the sequel and made it 1-3 in extra time via Elliot Anderson, who scored from the penalty spot. As a result, the English are the opponent of Jong Oranje in the semi-finals of the European Championship. The Netherlands surprisingly won 0-1 against Portugal earlier in the day.
The match between England and the Netherlands will be played on Wednesday in the Slovak capital Bratislava. It has not yet been announced what time the match will start in the national football stadium of Slovakia. The final will also be played in that accommodation next Saturday.
England is the titleholder in Slovakia after the country won the European Championship final against Spain (1-0) two years ago. The team of national coach and former professional Lee Carsley includes Premier League players such as Elliott and Quansah, who both play for Arne Slot’s Liverpool.