Van Dijk v Kane & can Ake stop Saka? - five key battles

For nan 23rd time, England and nan Netherlands will face-off successful a elder men's world lucifer - and location is much connected nan statement than ever before.

This clip they meet successful nan semi-finals of Euro 2024 - nan first clip these awesome shot nations person met successful a awesome tourney knockout tie.

Both sides person produced awesome moments during nan tournament, but person besides flattered to deceive astatine times. It leaves america pinch a fascinating match-up, pinch individual duels crossed nan transportation and successful nan coaching dugouts apt to beryllium decisive.

Here, BBC Sport looks astatine 5 cardinal battles which could determine who reaches Sunday's last successful Berlin…

The conflict of nan captains will commencement pinch nan handshake and coin toss, and persist - successful each likelihood - passim nan brushwood successful Dortmund.

Harry Kane has not been astatine his champion astatine Euro 2024, lacking gait and beingness arsenic he appears to struggle pinch a backmost wounded suffered towards nan extremity of nan play pinch Bayern Munich.

But, arsenic he proved pinch goals against Denmark and Slovakia, arsenic good arsenic successful hitting nan barroom against Serbia, he is simply a man who needs only 1 chance successful nan container to person a awesome impact.

Marshalling him will beryllium Virgil van Dijk, who has shown his mastery of nan protect acheronian arts astatine Euro 2024. No subordinate has committed much fouls than nan 12 by nan Dutch skipper, but conscionable 1 yellowish paper from 5 games intends he remains available.

With 28 attempted clearances astatine nan tourney truthful acold - nan 5th astir of immoderate subordinate - Van Dijk is nan man doing nan Dutch soiled work, and nan obstacle Kane must flooded if he is to animate England to a 2nd successive Euros final.

One of nan astir pleasant surprises astatine Euro 2024 has been seeing Cody Gakpo - a fringe subordinate astatine Liverpool towards nan extremity of nan 2023-24 run - surviving up to his undoubted potential.

He is nan tournament's associated apical scorer (excluding ain goals) connected three, and 1 of only 2 players connected that people still competing successful nan Euros. Spain's Dani Olmo is alongside him, while Jamal Musiala, Ivan Schranz and Georges Mikautadze person fallen by nan wayside.

Gakpo has done truthful by cutting successful from nan near and terrifying defenders. His good thrust and near-post decorativeness against Romania successful nan past 16 exemplified that, arsenic did nan quarter-final victor against Turkey. Gakpo did not get nan last touch, but it was his unit that forced Mert Muldur to move nan shot into his ain net.

The man apt to beryllium tasked by Gareth Southgate to grip Gakpo will beryllium nan England manager's astir trusted protect lieutenant - Kyle Walker.

Just 5 men person played each infinitesimal astatine Euro 2024 truthful acold and 4 of them are English - Jordan Pickford, Declan Rice, John Stones and Walker.

Whether astatine right-back aliases successful cardinal defence, Walker will commencement against nan Dutch - and he will person to woody pinch Gakpo.

As good arsenic playing each infinitesimal successful Germany, Rice has done his champion to screen each leaf of writer successful nan country.

The England midfielder has covered nan top region - 63.9km - of immoderate subordinate astatine Euro 2024, and grown successful power connected nan tourney arsenic it has progressed.

Following nan nadir of an under-par capacity against Denmark, wherever each walk seemed to beryllium going astray, Rice has been nan reliable midfield metronome successful nan knockouts.

He has attempted nan sixth-highest number of passes (393) of each Euro 2024 players, and nan third-highest full from a midfielder - aft Toni Kroos and Granit Xhaka - and has done truthful pinch an awesome 93.2% passing accuracy.

Rice besides plays an basal domiciled arsenic nan midfield destroyer, and is 4th successful nan individual subordinate rankings for balls recovered (35) and tackles made (14).

The conflict for nan midfield astatine Signal Iduna Park will beryllium fought betwixt Rice and Tijjani Reijnders, a sanction possibly unfamiliar to English audiences but who has been 1 of nan tournament's astir eye-catching players.

The 25-year-old AC Milan midfielder has stepped into nan void near by nan injured Frenkie de Jong, playing astir each infinitesimal and carrying Netherlands guardant from midfield pinch nan shot astatine his feet.

Comfortable successful possession and pinch a knack for a line-breaking walk - 38 of them astatine Euro 2024 earlier nan quarter-finals - Reijnders must beryllium reined successful for England to person a chance.

Whenever Switzerland defender Michel Aebischer sleeps complete nan adjacent fewer months, he will dream of Bukayo Saka going past him.

The England guardant hit Aebischer again and again successful their quarter-final necktie – 4 times successful nan first half alone, much than immoderate subordinate had beaten different successful immoderate Euro 2024 crippled to that point.

Saka was man of nan lucifer by immoderate region successful Dusseldorf, not slightest for his terrific equaliser, scored erstwhile he trim successful from nan correct and fired successful disconnected nan acold station pinch his near foot.

The Arsenal man has played connected nan correct for England passim nan Euros, including successful an different wing-back domiciled against nan Swiss.

That will time off it up to nan near broadside of nan Dutch defence to extremity him. Step guardant Nathan Ake, who has started each 5 games successful Germany astatine left-back. Ake has softly had a good tournament, continuing his beardown play astatine nine level for Manchester City, and will request to beryllium astatine his champion to extremity Saka.

Against Switzerland, Southgate changed nan 4-2-3-1 deployed successful their first 4 matches to lucifer nan Swiss up pinch a 3-4-2-1.

This included playing Saka and Kieran Trippier arsenic inverted wing-backs, while Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden were dual number 10s.

The research was a qualified success. Saka was fantabulous and England progressed, but Foden struggled to support possession and often dropped excessively deep, while nan Three Lions struggled to get nan shot to Bellingham to let him to afloat power nan lucifer - a recurring problem passim Euro 2024.

The Dutch besides changed their statement for their quarter-final, switching from 4-3-3 to 4-2-3-1. It allowed Xavi Simons to play person to cardinal striker Memphis Depay, pinch Reijnders and Jerdy Schouten providing nan midfield base.

Whether Southgate persists pinch nan 3-4-2-1 and its marginal improvements successful England's flow, aliases again chooses to lucifer up beardown opponents, could beryllium decisive arsenic to who makes nan final.