Key events
The players who will miss the semi-final if they are booked tonight
France Sakina Karchaoui
Netherlands Lineth Beerensteyn, Dominique Janssen, Jill Roord, Damaris Egurrola
Louise Taylor’s preview
Team news: Miedema starts
Vivianne Miedema returns for the Netherlands, one of three changes from their win over Switzerland. Kerstin Casparij and Victoria Pelova also come in, with Aniek Nouwen, Jill Roord and the injured Lieke Martens missing out. The inclusion of Casparij means Dominique Janssen will move across to centre-back.
Corinne Diacre, who rested a number of France players against Iceland, returns to her strongest XI. There are two changes from the side that beat Belgium in their second game: Melvine Malard for the injured Marie-Antoinette Katoto up front and Sandie Toletti for Clara Mateo in midfield.
France (4-3-3) Peyraud-Magnin; Perisset, Mbock Bathy, Renard, Karchaoui; Toletti, Bilbault, Geyoro; Diani, Malard, Cascarino.
Substitutes: Chavas, Lerond, Palis, Torrent, Tounkara, Mateo, Bacha, Dali, Baltimore, Sarr, Cissoko.
Netherlands (4-3-3) van Domselaar; Wilms, van der Gragt, Janssen, Casparij; Groenen, van de Donk, Spitse; Beerensteyn, Miedema, Pelova.
Substitutes: Weimar, Lorsheyd, Nouwen, van Dongen, Roord, R Jansen, Dijkstra, Leuchter, Olislagers, Egurrola, Brugts.
Preamble
Now this is a quarter-final: France and the Netherlands, third and fourth in the world rankings, playing for the right to face Germany in the last four. In simplistic terms, it’s the underachievers against the champions. And the underachievers are favourites.
France – and even though I’m typing this I still don’t entirely believe it – have never reached the semi-finals of the European Championship. The Netherlands have no such simian backpack: they won the competition in memorable style in 2017.
The Netherlands’ defence of their title has been both perfectly fine and slightly underwhelming. They beat Portugal and Switzerland and drew with Sweden, which is about par, but they had to work harder than expected for those two wins. “We’re still waiting,” says their manager Mark Parsons, “for that performance where we all say we got to a level that gives us goosebumps.”
There is a caveat – the absence of Vivianne Miedema, who was in Covid isolation for the games against Portugal and Switzerland. She is back in the starting XI tonight. Sadly it’s one in, one out for the Netherlands, as the great Lieke Martens is out of the tournament with a foot problem.
The French are also without one a Paris Saint-Germain star: Marie-Antoinette Katoto, who suffered a serious knee injury in the second group game against Belgium. Melvine Malard deputised excellently in the draw against Iceland and starts tonight, but Katoto is a big loss.
France made a rampant start to the tournament, scoring five in the first half against Italy. Since then they have been a lot quieter – they lost the second half 1-0 to Italy, beat Belgium 2-1 and drew 1-1 with Iceland in what was, for them at least, a dead rubber.
Iceland’s 102nd-minute equaliser, so late it was almost posthumous, ended France’s run of 16 consecutive wins. That sequence included a 3-1 victories over the Netherlands at the Tournoi de France in February. But it’s hard to know how much we should read into that, especially as two of the goals were scored by – yep – Marie-Antoinette Katoto.
The France manager Corinne Diacre says the Netherlands are probably favourites tonight, though I’d disagree with that. Not to her face. Not cos I’m scared of her.
Objectively, France are slight favourites to go through. But we all know that, in a heavyweight clash like this, anything is possible.
Kick off 8pm.