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England set for Dutch showdown in Portugal

England set for Dutch showdown in Portugal
© Reuters
Nations League draw has been made in Dublin.

England will face Holland in the Nations League semi-final next summer.

Gareth Southgate's men qualified for the last four of the inaugural tournament with a late victory over Croatia last month, topping a group which also included Spain.

The tie will be played in Guimaraes in Portugal on June 6.

Hosts Portugal will play Switzerland in the other last-four tie on June 5 in Porto, with the final and third-place play-off taking place on June 9.

Southgate now knows the route his side must take to get their hands on a trophy next summer as he looks to build on the impressive run to the World Cup semi-final.

Their clash with Holland, managed by Ronald Koeman, will be the first competitive meeting between the 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, which was also held in Portugal.

England were heading out of the Nations League and towards relegation to the second tier until the final 12 minutes of the group stages.

A topsy-turvy campaign saw the Three Lions, Croatia and Spain all grapple for qualification and with Croatia leading 1-0 at Wembley in the final match the odds were against England.

But late goals from Jesse Lingard and Harry Kane sent Southgate's men through to the final as group winners.

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."

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Eric Dier in action during the Nations League group game between England and Croatia on November 18, 2018
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