Netherlands 3-1 England: Nations League at a glance
Thursday, June 6, 2019
Article summary
The Netherlands will face Portugal in Sunday's final after coming from behind to win in extra time.
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Match at a glance
The Netherlands will play Portugal in Sunday's UEFA Nations League final after they came from behind to beat England 3-1 in extra time in Guimaraes.
An absorbing encounter was seven minutes into the additional period when the decisive moment arrived. John Stones was caught in possession and though Jordan Pickford denied Memphis Depay, Quincy Promes reached the rebound first and fired in via a telling deflection off Kyle Walker. Another defensive mix-up let in Promes for the killer third.
It settled a semi-final that had initially been a guarded affair; at least until Marcus Rashford nipped through a gap on 32 minutes and Matthijs de Ligt sent him tumbling. The Manchester United forward, whose night was soon ended by a knock, calmly slotted past Jasper Cillessen.
A cagey first half made way for a frenetic, end-to-end second. Jadon Sancho and Depay wasted good chances before, with 17 minutes left, De Ligt headed in a redemptive equaliser following a corner. There was more drama to come.
Jesse Lingard thought he had struck a memorable winner but his effort was ruled out for offside after a VAR consultation, and Raheem Sterling grazed the bar but it was onto extra time. There, it was all the Netherlands.
Man of the match: Frenkie de Jong
"It was an all-round complete performance, controlling the speed and tempo of the game," explained Technical Study Group member David Moyes. "He underlined his qualities as an influential midfielder."
View from the stadium
Derek Brookman, Netherlands reporter
The first period was somewhat short of goalmouth action, but the second was captivating with the balance of play swinging between the teams on a regular basis. The Dutch didn't panic when they were under the cosh, but just persisted with their possession-based approach. They really turned the screw in the first half of extra time, and kept their nerve thereafter to see out the victory. A fine result from a side clearly improving at a rapid rate of knots.
Simon Hart, England reporter
For all England's progress over the past year, this was a repeat of their semi-final fate at Russia 2018: they lost a lead and eventually went down in extra time against opponents who kept hold of the ball better. For centre-back Stones there was an especially painful lesson as his sloppiness (not for the first time here) led to the decisive second Dutch goal. Ross Barkley, arguably England's brightest spark, then suffered the same fate to seal his team's.
Key stats
2: The Netherlands have lost only two of their last 15 matches against England (W6 D7).
23: Depay, who laid on Promes's strike, has had a hand in 23 goals in his last 21 games for club and country.
2: De Ligt did not score in his first 14 international appearances – he now has two in two matches for the Oranje.
3: The Oranje have lost just three of their last 21 games outside the Netherlands.
112: The Netherlands scored two goals in extra time for the first time in 112 years, since 1907 when they did so against Belgium.
7: Rashford's penalty was his seventh goal for England in his 32nd outing – he has managed four in his last seven.
4: This was Walker's fourth career own goal, and his first since Manchester City's 7-2 win against Stoke on 14 October 2017.
50: At 24 years and 180 days old, Raheem Sterling is the third-youngest player to reach 50 caps after Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen.
What's next?
Netherlands: Portugal await in Sunday's inaugural UEFA Nations League final. The Oranje overwhelmed the Portuguese 3-0 in March 2018, only their second win in 13 previous meetings with the Selecção (L7 D4).
England: Third place will be at stake a few hours before the final when Gareth Southgate's side return to Guimaraes to take on Switzerland. England have an impressive record against the Swiss, last September's 1-0 friendly victory their 17th win in 25 previous meetings. They have lost just three.