Oranje has lost 4 of 5 Euro semifinals, but has a 4-4-2 record against England since ’96

The Netherlands men’s football team will face England for the sixth time on Wednesday night in the semi-final of the European Championships. Oranje reached the final of this tournament on one occasion, in 1988. This happened when they beat West Germany in the semi-final (2-1). Oranje then beat the Soviet Union 2-0 in the final to win the trophy.

At the 1976 European Championships, Oranje lost 3-1 to Czechoslovakia in the semi-final. In 1992, they lost to Denmark on penalties after Marco van Basten missed a penalty.

But it is the Euro 2000 semi-final that always stings the most with Dutch fans. The final of the Euros in their own country was within reach. Frank Rijkaard’s team was given two penalties in regular time against Italy. First, Frank de Boer missed, and then Patrick Kluivert missed. De Boer then missed again in the penalty shootout, as did Jaap Stam and Paul Bosvelt, which ensured that Italy was victorious.

Oranje last reached the semi-finals of the European Championships in 2004. They lost that match 2-1 to Portugal.

However, although Oranje’s record in the semi-finals is poor, their record against England is excellent. Oranje suffered a tough 4-1 loss to England at the European Championships of 1996, but they only lost once against England in the nine matches that followed.

This loss came during current manager Ronald Koeman’s debut as Oranje manager in his first spell as Dutch boss on March 23, 2018, where England won 0-1 in the Johan Cruijff ArenA in Amsterdam in a friendly match.

Of the eight other matches, Oranje won four, and half ended in a draw. During this time, Oranje won three friendly matches: 2001 (0-2), 2012 (2-3), and 2016 (1-2).

The fourth win came in June 2019 during the semi-finals of the UEFA Nations League in Portugal, which finished 3-1 after extra time.

All four matches that ended in a draw were friendlies: 2002 (1-1), 2005 (0-0), 2006 (1-1), and 2009 (2-2).

Koeman faced England as a player for the Netherlands on four occasions and never lost (two wins and two draws).

One of those victories was the World Cup qualification match on October 13, 1993 (2-0). Koeman opened the score in that game from a free kick after he had been lucky to avoid a red card a short while earlier for a foul on David Platt, who had broken through. Oranje qualified for the World Cup in the United States, but England did not.

The semi-final will see many internationals facing each other who play for the same club. Oranje captain Virgil van Dijk, Cody Gakpo, and Ryan Gravenberch played for Liverpool last season with England right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Nathan Ake will face Phil Foden, John Stones, and Kyle Walker, his teammates for Man City.

Matthijs de Ligt, who has not played a minute at this tournament yet, will meet Harry Kane, a striker for his team Bayern Munich.

Goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen plays for Brighton & Hove Albion with England international Lewis Dunk. Reserve goalkeeper Mark Flekken plays for Brentford with Ivan Toney.

Ian Maatsen will play for Aston Villa next season. The club has two England internationals in the squad: Ollie Watkins and Ezri Konsa. Maatsen played for Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League final last season with Oranje teammate Donyell Malen, but they lost to Real Madrid, the club of England midfielder Jude Bellingham.