England are bidding to emulate their achievements of Euro 2020 by making the final, but they have been way below their best and standing in their way is a dangerous Dutch attack.
The Three Lions have scored only five goals in 480 minutes of action, with Gareth Southgate failing to get the best out of their attacking talents, and they needed extra-time to see off last-16 rivals Slovakia while requiring penalties in the quarter-final tie with Switzerland.
England have yet to face a nation ranked inside the world’s top 18 and they’ve been pretty fortuitous with their run of fixtures given they have managed more than three shots on target in only one of their five outings.
Southgate’s desperation to stay tight and compact and protect his defence has impacted their attacking output and that resulted in a change in formation for their quarter-final victory over the Swiss.
It was a tactical tweak from a 4-2-3-1 to a 3-4-2-1 and, while it was the desired outcome, it didn’t produce the swashbuckling improvement many were hoping for.
Had it not been for moments of brilliance from Jude Bellingham against Slovakia and Bukayo Saka against the Swiss then they would already be at home.
Saka has been England’s most consistent performer and he will fancy his chances against Nathan Ake, who was booked against Turkey and hasn’t always been a left-back.
The Switzerland win did see the introduction from the bench of Luke Shaw, who enjoyed 42 minutes for the first time since February, but whether he can be deemed match fit for such a big game after a lengthy layoff remains to be seen.
It, therefore, appears likely that Southgate will revert back to the 4-2-3-1 formation he opted for in the group stages in a bid to suck the life out of a free-flowing Dutch frontline.
Despite scoring twice in the tournament, Harry Kane hasn’t looked fit enough to do himself justice in the final third and his tendency to drop deep won’t help to make an impact up against Virgil Van Dijk and Stefan de Vrij.
The Netherlands have conceded in three of their five matches but they did keep France at bay in the group stages while they defended resolutely when 2-1 up against Turkey late on in the quarter-final.
Having also come up against Austria, Poland and Romania, the Dutch have faced stronger opposition and while England have lacked firepower, they have netted two or more in four of their five outings.
Cody Gakpo, favourite to be top goalscorer with three goals to his name, has looked particularly dangerous on the left side of the Dutch front three and his explosive form could influence Southgate's team selection.
With Memphis Depay, Xavi Simons and Steven Bergwijn also available, Ronald Koeman has a vibrant attack at his disposal and that could make the difference in what should be a cagey contest.
If England opt for the 4-2-3-1 formation which they started the competition with then they could again suffer from a lack of attacking output on the left-hand side.
Right-footed Kieran Trippier has started at left-back in Shaw's absence while Phil Foden prefers to play centrally and that imbalance is again likely to make the Three Lions too predictable and easy to play against.
