England are gearing up for the Euro 2024 semifinal, with the Three Lions facing the Netherlands in a highly-anticipated clash on Wednesday.
Both nations have endured highs and lows this tournament, with the Dutch finishing third in their group before beating Romania and Türkiye in the round of 16 and quarterfinals, respectively.
Southgate's men, on the other hand, won their group but needed extra time in both the round of 16 and quarterfinal, with the latter being decided on penalties. Nonetheless, the England manager is only 90 minutes away from achieving something no other Three Lions manager has.
Wednesday's match will be England's third semifinal in their last four major tournaments under the current boss, having reached this far in the 2018 FIFA World Cup while making the Euro 2020 final.
3 - England have reached the semi-finals of three of their four major tournaments under Gareth Southgate (2018 World Cup, EURO 2020 + 2024), having not done so in any of their nine tournaments prior to that between 1998 and 2016. Hope. pic.twitter.com/xefXhyUEeY
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) July 10, 2024
Additionally, Southgate could make history in this match if they qualify for Sunday's final. While the Three Lions have made it to two previous major finals — the 1966 FIFA World Cup, which they won, and the Euro 2020 final, which they lost — those two tournaments were held on home soil.
This means the one-time FIFA World Cup champions have never made it to a major final in a tournament held outside of England. Southgate could become the first manager in the national team's history to achieve this feat.
However, Kane and Co. will need to up their performance to achieve this. The continental giants were improved against Switzerland but were lackluster nonetheless, with Bukayo Saka's 80th-minute goal taking that quarterfinal to extra time.
Questions have also been asked about the players' fitness. England have played 120 minutes in both knockout stage matches. Meanwhile, the Netherlands won their round of 16 and quarterfinal fixture in normal time.
Southgate is expected to name a similar lineup to the one that beat the Swiss, with March Guehi expected to return after seeing out his suspension.
