Uefa Nations League draw: England to face Netherlands in semi-finals of inaugural competition
England will take on Ronald Koeman's men on 6 June at the 30,000-seat Estadio D. Afonso Henriques
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Your support makes all the difference.England have been drawn to face the Netherlands in next summer’s inaugural Nations League semi-finals.
Gareth Southgate‘s men secured their place in the last four with last month’s impressive 2-1 win over Croatia - a result that saw the side top Group A4.
The finals will be held in Portugal in June of next year. England will take on Ronald Koeman’s side on 6 June at the 30,000-seat Estadio D. Afonso Henriques in Guimaraes.
In the second semi-final of the competition, Switzerland face Portugal on 5 June at Porto’s Estadio do Dragao.
The final will be held on 9 June.
England's clash with the Netherlands will be the first competitive meeting between the two sides since Euro 96, when Southgate played in a memorable 4-1 win for the Three Lions.
Portugal or Switzerland would await in the final, both teams England played in Euro 2004.
Southgate says England have been pitted against a team who are at a similar stage to his own.
"We have really enjoyed the tournament, the Nations League has been a great success," the Three Lions boss said.
"The quality of matches for us for our development has been exceptional. We are now looking forward to the semi-finals, four very good teams.
"We play a team in Holland who are at a similar stage to us, developing, lots of exciting young players in both sides and you can see the impact Ronald has had.
"It's a very exciting game to look forward to and for us a second semi-final. We have a bit longer to prepare for this one, so we are looking forward to the summer."
Koeman was involved in another famous tussle between the two countries as he scored against England in a World Cup qualifier which went a long way to denying Graham Taylor's men a place at the 1994 tournament.
The former Everton manager said: "We know it is always a battle between England and Holland.
"We have a lot of respect for the England team, we have a lot of players playing at various clubs in the Premier League.
"Gareth is giving confidence, possibility, opportunity to young players and that is the same way as we like to do in Holland."
England’s progression to the Nations League finals rounds off a successful year for Southgate’s side, having reached the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup in what was their highest finish at a major competition since Euro 96.
Additional reporting by agencies
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