Preview: England Under-21s vs. Netherlands Under-21s - prediction, team news, lineups

A place in the European Under-21 Championship final will be on the line when England Under-21s take on Netherlands Under-21s in Wednesday's last-four meeting in Bratislava.

The Three Lions saw off Spain in the quarter-finals, while the Netherlands squeezed past Portugal in their last-eight clash. 

Match preview

England are still in the hunt to defend the trophy that they won in 2023 when they went all the way to beat Spain 1-0 in the final. 

Two years on, the Three Lions experienced a tricky route out of the group stage despite kicking off the tournament with a 3-1 victory over Czech Republic.

They went on to play out a goalless draw with Slovenia, before they fell to a 2-1 defeat in their final group game against Germany, although the defeat did not prove costly thanks to the Czech Republic’s win in the group’s other match.

Lee Carsley’s side picked up their performance levels for their quarter-final clash against Spain, as James McAtee and Harvey Elliott scored in the opening 15 minutes to get their country off to the perfect start, before Javi Guerra pulled a goal back from the penalty spot.

The Three Lions dug deep to keep La Rojita at bay until Elliot Anderson made sure of the result with a stoppage-time penalty, keeping England’s hopes alive of repeating their success from 1982 and 1984 when they won back-to-back tournaments.

England will try to draw inspiration from the senior side, who recorded a dramatic victory in last year’s European Championship semi-final against Netherlands, although Carsley will hope that his side do not have to wait until the 90th minute for a winner in this one.

Netherlands are looking to win the Under-21 Euros for the first time since lifting the trophy at back-to-back tournaments in 2006 and 2007.

The Jong Oranje are currently preparing for their second semi-final appearance in three tournaments after successfully navigating their way through the group stage and quarter-final.

After taking just a point from their opening two group games, the Netherlands required a 2-0 victory in their final group game against Ukraine to seal second spot in Group D. 

The Netherlands' hope of reaching the semi-finals were dealt a blow when Ruben van Bommel was sent off in the 21st minute of the quarter-final meeting with Portugal, before they were given a reprieve when Geovany Quenda hit the post from the penalty spot in the closing stages of the first period.

Ernest Poku came off the bench to score the winning goal in the 84th minute, representing the Netherlands' five victories in their last seven matches. 

The Netherlands have failed to progress from their last two semi-finals, meaning that they are now searching for their first win at this stage of the tournament since beating England on penalties in 2007.

England Under-21 form (all competitions)

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Netherlands Under-21 form (all competitions)

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Team News

England will be unable to call upon Liverpool midfielder Tyler Morton, who is suspended after he picked up his second yellow card of the tournament in Saturday’s quarter-final. 

After seeing his team produce a strong defensive display against Spain, Carsley is likely to stick with a back four of Jack Hinshelwood, Jarell Quansah, Charlie Cresswell and Tino Livramento

Anderson should return in midfield after dropping down to the bench at the weekend, while Jonathan Rowe is an option if Carsley decides to freshen up his attacking options.

As for the Netherlands, they are without the services of Van Bommel following his red card in the quarter-final success against Portugal.

Devyne Rensch and Kenneth Taylor are also suspended after they picked up their second yellow cards of the tournament on Saturday.

Neraysho Kasanwirjo, Antoni Milambo and Poku are among those who could be selected to replace the suspended trio.

England Under-21 possible starting lineup:

Beadle; Hinshelwood, Quansah, Cresswell, Livramento; Scott, Anderson, McAtee; Elliott, Rowe, Stansfield

Netherlands Under-21 possible starting lineup:

Roefs; Kasanwirjo, Van den Berg, Hato, Maatsen; Flamingo, Valente, Milambo; Manhoef, Poku; Van Bergen

We say: England Under-21 2-0 Netherlands Under-21

England would have taken significant confidence from their quarter-final success against a Spain side that was stacked with quality, and we believe that they will produce another strong performance to see off a Netherlands team that could struggle with fatigue after playing around 70 minutes with 10 men on Saturday.