Manchester City defender John Stones lost the ball to Holland forward Memphis Depay, and though England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford brilliantly stopped the Dutch forward’s shot, Kyle Walker could only deflect the loose ball into his own net under pressure from Quincy Promes.
Then Ross Barkley disastrously gave the ball away to Depay with minutes left from Stones’ pass – and this time Promes could not miss from his cross in front of an empty net.
Stand-in England skipper Raheem Sterling admitted the Three Lions were the architects of their own downfall, saying: “We made some silly mistakes.
“We soaked up the pressure really well. Towards the end of the second half I thought we were the better team but we made some silly mistakes and were punished for it.
“One day VAR might help us but today it didn’t. They had their pressing right. We made a few mistakes and I thought we tried to play at times but it didn’t work.
“The team was slightly altered today. A few players were missing that usually play. But players come in and do a job and that’s what they did today. It was only Declan’s Rice second start and he did well but it wasn’t to be.
“We have still made progress to get to this stage but it is about kicking on and making that last step now.”
It was a heartbreak night for Gareth Southgate’s men, who had taken the lead through Marcus Rashford’s penalty, only to be hauled back by Matthijs de Ligt’s late equaliser.
England had seen a late strike by Jesse Lingard that would have been a winning goal with just eight minutes left of normal time ruled out by VAR.
It was the second semi-final defeat in 11 months for Southgate’s team, who lost to Croatia at the World Cup in Russia at this stage last summer.
But this was even more cruel.
The long wait for a first tournament trophy since 1966 goes on for England.
And it is Holland now who will meet Portugal in Sunday’s Nations League final, after their 3-1 win over Switzerland on Wednesday night.
For Southgate’s men it is another third and fourth place clash, against the Swiss here in Guimaraes.
Former England star Chris Waddle said: “It didn’t happen in midfield for England. Fabian Delph is a decent player who grafts hard but he didn’t create anything.
“Barkley was better but if you want to play in the midfield at this level you have to want the ball and be comfortable on it.”