Euro 2024 & Copa America: semi-finals continue and end!

Netherlands vs England, what kind of match can we expect?

England, pre-tournament favorites in our Euro 2024 predictions, are now hoping to prove us wrong. Indeed, while Spain are now considered favorites, the Three Lions have the opportunity to contest a second consecutive Euro final, a competition they have never won... But the level of this team is still very disappointing and, whether individually or collectively, it's clear that they're struggling to get through.

With a squad of undeniable quality (probably the best at this Euro 2024), Gareth Southgate is unable to create an osmosis and get these stars to play as they should. This was quickly apparent in the group phase, where the Three Lions won just one match (1-0 against Serbia) before sharing points on two occasions (1-1 against Denmark and 0-0 against Slovenia). Even so, the English managed to get through to the top half of the table, avoiding all the favorites until the final.

And in the knockout phase, just when we were expecting Harry Kane's teammates to raise their game, we were disappointed once again. Saved in the dying seconds against Slovakia by Bellingham's overhead kick, England went on to win in extra time. And against Switzerland in the quarter-finals, in a tough encounter against a very strong team, they had to go to penalties to reach the last four... A worrying level, which doesn't even make her the favorite in our Netherlands vs England prediction.

For their part, the Netherlands are going from strength to strength in this competition! Outsiders at the start of the tournament, the Oranje have a fine squad with some excellent players, and have all the cards in their hands to trouble average England and reach the final of this Euro 2024. Even if it would be quite a surprise to see them finish as champions, when you take a look at the squad, they have every right to be in the semi-finals.

But this wasn't necessarily the case in the early stages, where the Dutch endured a very complicated and disappointing group stage. In fact, they only finished in third place, whereas everyone was expecting them to fight for the top two places. And while things got off to a good start against Poland (2-1 victory) despite an average game, Ronald Koeman's men then followed this up with a draw against France (0-0) and a surprise defeat by Austria (3-2).

In the end, it may have been a blessing in disguise, as the Netherlands inherited the best section of the tournament, with opponents well within their reach to reach the semi-finals. In fact, Cody Gakpo's team-mates first thrashed Romania in the Round of 16 (3-0), then had a tougher time of it against Turkey (2-1). Tonight's opponents will be on a different level on paper, and the Dutch will have to put in a much better performance than they did against the Turks.

Important Info

• TV Broadcast: FOX Sports
• Time: 3:00 PM EST
• Stadium: Signal Iduna Park (Dortmund)
• Referee: Felix Zwayer (German)

Uruguay vs Colombia, a clash of outsiders

After Argentina's qualification yesterday, we find two outsiders in our Copa America 2024 prediction, namely Uruguay and Colombia. And, indeed, the Uruguayans can achieve a feat in this competition, having shown themselves to be very solid since the start of the tournament and having great ambitions since the arrival of Marcelo Bielsa at the head of this team. And this has been reflected in this Copa.

Uruguay finished top of their group with 3 wins (3-1 Panama, 5-0 Bolivia and 1-0 USA), qualifying for the quarter-finals of the competition with ease. And in this first knockout match, Fede Valverde's teammates were up against the second big favorite: Brazil. And La Celeste put in a very solid performance, taking the Brazilians to a penalty shoot-out despite being shown the red card in the 74th minute.

Colombia are perhaps the most in-form team in the world, and are having a superb tournament. So much so, that it was very difficult to make our Uruguay vs Colombia prediction... Indeed, Luis Diaz's teammates (2 goals in the tournament) haven't lost a game for months now, and of course remain unbeaten in this Copa America 2024 edition (2-1 Paraguay, 3-0 Costa Rica, 1-1 Brazil, 5-0 Colombia).

Having made it through their group without a hitch and ahead of the Seleção, against whom they shared the points, Colombia continued their progress by literally crushing Panama in the quarter-finals, with a 5-0 scoreline. With 11 goals in 4 games, the Colombians are the best attacking team in the competition. Buoyed by their number 10, James Rodriguez, scorer of a goal and 5 assists, Colombia can, like their opponents of the day, hope to lift the trophy on July 14th.

Important Info

• TV Broadcast: FOX Sports
• Time: 8:00 PM EST
• Stadium: Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte)
• Referee: César Arturo Ramos Palazuelos (Mexican)