England errors gift Netherlands spot in final

The first half was in large part a scrappy and sloppy affair, with neither team able to show any real moments of quality in the final third and both goalkeepers remaining untested. It was rather fitting, therefore, that the deadlock would be broken from a sloppy error. Much coveted centre-back Matthijs de Ligt proved that he is human after all as he miscontrolled a Martin de Roon pass in his own area. This allowed Marcus Rashford to race onto it and steal it off him, and the Dutch defender inevitably chopped Rashford down and gave away a penalty as he lunged to rectify his error. 

The England forward stepped up, brushed himself off and, in a manner resembling his Manchester United teammate Paul Pogba, slowly trotted up to the ball before slotting home the penalty and putting his side ahead.

The Dutch dominated possession for large chunks of the first and second half, but failed to create many real clear cut chances at first as England kept a solid shape at the back. 

Dutch football's wonderboy de Ligt did manage to redeem himself later in the second half; the young defender rose above John Stones and Kyle Walker to slam home a powerful header from a corner and force extra-time in Guimaraes.

However, it looked for a brief minute of England euphoria that extra-time wasn't going to be needed. Gareth Southgate's side finally strung together a flowing passing move in the 82nd minute, which culminated in Jesse Lingard sweeping a composed finish past Jasper Cillessen from Jordan Henderson's inch-perfect through ball. England fans were sent into raptures, but after a lengthy VAR check, Lingard's effort was ruled out for offside - an incredibly tight decision that even after a review did not seem to be conclusive either way.

As the game drifted into extra-time, England started to look more and more tired both mentally and physically. This fatigue was seen just five minutes into the extra period as Stones faffed out with the ball in his own box. The centre-back was robbed of possession as he took his time under pressure from Memphis Depay, and although Jordan Pickford did brilliantly to keep out Depay's initial effort, the ball was bundled home on the rebound by a combination of Quincy Promes and Walker to put the Dutch ahead.

Depay would then force another England mistake as he stole the ball off Ross Barkley in his own area, before committing Pickford in the England net and sliding across for Promes to tuck the ball into an empty net and put the game to bed.

So, more semi-final heartbreak for England as their 53-year wait to reach an international final goes on thanks to their own individual errors. On the other hand, the Dutch will be delighted with the way they turned the game around, and must now rest up for Sunday's showpiece against Portugal and their national hero Cristiano Ronaldo.