Koeman Confident For Euro 2024 Semi-Final Despite Travel Hurdles

Netherlands head coach Ronald Koeman assured that travel delays won't impact his team before their Euro 2024 semi-final against England on Tuesday. The Netherlands were set to travel from Wolfsburg to Dortmund, but a blockage caused their service to be cancelled. Instead, Koeman and his squad flew to Dortmund, arriving at their hotel on Tuesday evening.

"It was not a problem, we had a good rest this afternoon, we were on the plane for just 30 minutes, arrived at our hotel and we can have a good rest tonight," Koeman stated in an interview with UEFA after his scheduled pre-match press conference was cancelled due to the delay.

This will be the fourth meeting between England and the Netherlands at a major tournament. Both teams have won once in their previous encounters. England has only managed one victory in their last nine meetings with the Netherlands across all competitions. Despite this, Koeman anticipates a challenging match against the Three Lions.

"We know that there is really not much difference between the two teams, it's really 50-50 in my opinion," Koeman said. "But we will need the perfect game to win. We know they have a lot of individual qualities but both teams are really strong and it will be a good fight," he predicted.

The Netherlands secured their place in the semi-finals by coming from behind to beat Turkiye 2-1 in Berlin last Saturday. On the other hand, England needed penalties to get past Switzerland in their quarter-final match. Koeman believes this could play into their hands as they prepare for the semi-final clash.

"England had to play extra time in their last game (against Switzerland) so maybe that could be a difference in the latter stages of the match," Koeman noted. "We are sharp, we are focused and we are looking forward to playing a good match against them."

The Dutch coach remains confident despite the minor travel hiccup and is optimistic about his team's readiness for the upcoming challenge. The focus now shifts entirely to ensuring they deliver an impeccable performance against England.