- England reached the Euro 2024 final after a dramatic win over the Netherlands
- There has been a mixture of sadness and anger in the reaction by foreign media
- Listen to It’s All Kicking Off! on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. New episodes released every day during the Euros
The Dutch media have expressed their anger and sadness after they were beaten 2-1 by England in the Euro 2024 semi-final on Wednesday.
The Three Lions reached Sunday’s final in Berlin in dramatic fashion after Ollie Watkins‘ 90th minute strike secured the victory, with Harry Kane earlier cancelling out Xavi Simons’ first half opener.
It was the third successive knockout game at the tournament that England have won following substantial drama, with the Three Lions defeating Slovakia in extra time in the last-16, before they beat Switzerland on penalties in the quarter-final.
And, in the immediate aftermath of the game, there was rage in the Netherlands with former national team star Rafael van der Vaart letting rip at Gareth Southgate‘s side.
‘What a s*** team they are’, he fumed to Dutch broadcaster NOS. ‘Slowly, they didn’t want to do anything anymore.
‘They have such top players on the field. We didn’t do much either. We had a few chances. There could have been so much more in it.’
Elsewhere, there was understandable outrage about England’s first half penalty when Denzel Dumfries was adjudged to have fouled Kane following a VAR review.
Click here to resize this module
VI led the furious reaction as they pointed to a potential handball by Bukayo Saka in the run-up to the spot kick.
Click here to resize this module
Dutch outlet VI highlighted how the ‘international press were unanimous about the penalty moment with Dumfries’, while AD carried the ‘surprise in England’ about the decision, with others pointing to it being a ‘disgrace’.
Pierre van Hooijdonk, who was working alongside Van der Vaart for NOS, added to the furious reaction as he said: ‘(Referee) Felix Zwayer and the VAR Bastian Dankert: (should be) blacklisted. Terrible.’
Meanwhile, AD also explained how the ‘Dutch European Championship dream was in tatters’ after their dramatic semi-final ‘denouement’ against England.
This heartbreak was similarly shared elsewhere, with De Telegraaf highlighting how Dutch ‘dreams were shattered’ after Watkins’ dramatic late goal.
However, De Telegraaf also claimed that: ‘Luck ran out for Koeman and unstable Oranje’, perhaps in reference to their run to the final four which came after they finished third in their group.
Several Dutch players were also incandescent at full-time, with Netherland skipper Virgil van Dijk, who was booked for dissent during the game, hitting out at Zwayer.
‘I don’t know if I should say something about that,’ he told beIN Sports. ‘I said it to the Dutch media. I think it says it all that the referee went in quite quickly after the game.
‘I had no time to shake his hand. But it is what it is, the game is done, we lost, certain moments were obvious that they should have gone our way, but they didn’t, whatever the outcome.
‘It is difficult to accept this. It has been a tough year. We had a big dream and we felt we could have achieved it.’
He continued: ‘They keep changing certain things, small changes that could have a big impact. Maybe it’s a good thing that they could be held accountable as well.
‘They didn’t come here and speak to you and explain themselves like we have to when we do something wrong.
‘That might be something. But I shouldn’t speak about others and we have to look at ourselves.’
Ronald Koeman was similarly fuming at the decision as he said: ‘What do you do as a defender?
‘This is not a penalty. Dumfries wanted to block the ball. Then the shoes collide. Such VAR decisions destroy football.’
Meanwhile, several Spanish papers hailed England’s resilience and never-say-die attitude, but also expressed their confidence of beating the Three Lions in the Euro 2024 final.
Marca described England as the team who ‘always floats’, while fellow outlet AS called them ‘the miracle team’.
The drama of the Three Lions’ victory was hailed further as Watkins was described as an ‘unexpected hero’ by Marca.
Elsewhere, El Mundo similarly labelled Watkins a ‘hero’, and they also pointed to Jude Bellingham coming up against the country where he plays his club football in the final.
Bellingham has been a revelation ever since joining Real Madrid and El Mundo described Sunday’s showpiece as ‘Bellingham’s one-on-one match against Spain’.
Marca also upped the trash talk ahead of Sunday as they seemingly took a dig at Phil Foden in relation to Spanish wonderkid Lamine Yamal.
During Spain’s semi-final victory over France, Yamal scored a stunning match-winning goal as he cut inside Adrien Rabiot, before curling an effort into the top corner.
Foden similarly executed a stunning piece of skill against the Netherlands, but his shot crashed into the post, with Marca quick to mock that as they said: ‘Foden wanted to do the same as Lamine… but it didn’t end like Yamal.’
Meanwhile, TV show El Chiringuito seemed to relish the fact Spain are playing England as they discussed their potential celebrations after winning the Euros, while they also highlighted the depth of talent at Luis de la Fuente’s disposal.
The two teams will now do battle at the Olympiastadion Stadium in Berlin on Sunday, with the blockbuster clash kicking off at 8PM GMT.