Paul Merson predicts Spain vs France and Netherlands vs England Euro 2024 semifinal clashes
England didn't play anywhere close to their best football against Switzerland in the Euro 2024 quarterfinals, but their penalties were absolutely unbelievable. You'd have to be in that position or have gone through it to understand how difficult it is on the grandest stage, but they were just stunning.
Cole Palmer and Jude Bellingham were England's first two penalty-takers, but for the Swiss, it was Manuel Akanji and Fabian Schar - two central defenders. Sometimes, teams end up making five substitutions for the sake of it and it ends up weakening the team, which I suspect was the case with Switzerland. As for England, their squad is stacked and a handful of them put their hands up to be involved in the shootout, which worked out well for Gareth Southgate.
I said at the start of the tournament that it would be either England or France and I'm not changing my mind now. Spain have been very good, but I think they nicked it against Germany with a late goal from Mikel Merino. As for Holland, their goalkeeper made a world-class save in the closing stages and Turkey missed an open goal to restore parity, so it could be argued that even they fell over the line. The same could be said about France as they dumped Portugal out of the competition.
With all due respect, I said earlier that if Cristiano Ronaldo plays, it's like they play with 10 men and I want to reiterate that. Unless you get him out of the team, they aren't going to win anything!
With Spain set to take on France and England set to lock horns with the Netherlands, which of these sides will come out on top at Euro 2024?
Spain vs France
Spain have played quite well and in fact very well on occasions, but I'm still going with France. I don't see Lamine Yamal getting a kick against Theo Hernandez, while Jules Kounde is more than capable of keeping Nico Williams out of the game. Alvaro Morata hasn't had a good tournament and isn't going to get a kick against William Saliba in a month full of Sundays!
France are solid at the back but they haven't been able to score as freely as they'd have liked. I don't think Didier Deschamps will make too many changes to his team, but I'd like to see him play Olivier Giroud. At the moment, they are taking a gamble with power and pace and haven't got a focal point, so the best thing to do would be to put Giroud up front and put the ball into the box.
That's a change they have to make as none of the other attackers have done it. Randal Kolo Muani and Marcus Thuram have flattered to deceive, while Ousmane Dembele doesn't have the required end product despite threatening to look good on occasions. Kylian Mbappe, on the other hand, has been the biggest disappointment of Euro 2024 so far. I'm not a doctor but come on, I think you can play with a broken nose!
If it becomes an open game, Spain will dictate proceedings in midfield and come out on top. Deschamps won't let that happen, so I back France to come out on top. They haven't looked good in front of goal as their attackers are snatching at everything, but they have actually created quite a few chances!
Prediction: Spain 0-1 France
Netherlands vs England
I can't see anything but an England win, I honestly can't. I look at the options the Netherlands have upfront and barring Cody Gakpo, who has been in sublime form at Euro 2024, I don't think the other options like Memphis Depay, Wout Weghorst and Steven Bergwijn are good enough.
If Virgil van Dijk hadn't played against Turkiye, I dread to think what the score would have been. Gakpo has been their best player so far but when Turkiye forced him onto his left foot, he was ineffective and effectively taken out of the game.
England haven't been anywhere close to their best, but I think this is the game where they show up and expose the Netherlands. I look at Holland's options and feel like if they beat us, we deserve a kick up the backside.
The 2024 Ballon d'Or is going to be an interesting one. With Euro 2024 and Copa America 2024 happening and the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo playing outside Europe, it brings so many other players into the equation. I judge players a lot based on how they fare at international tournaments and this is why I think Diego Maradona is the greatest-ever footballer.
If England win the Euros, Jude Bellingham will become the frontrunner for the award. I'm not saying this is a horrible way, but I don't think Bellingham is the best footballer in the world and hasn't been among the top 20 players at Euro 2024 so far, so it'll be an interesting one.
If Messi wins the Copa America, it could well go to him as the Ballon d'Or committee don't know how to spell anyone else's name barring Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. If Germany progressed further in the competition, I think Florian Wirtz would have also been in contention as he's coming on the back of a sensational domestic season with Bayer Leverkusen.
Having said all that, I expect England to finally show up in the tournament and bag a decisive victory.
Prediction: Netherlands 0-2 England