England team vs the Netherlands: Our writers pick their XIs for Euro 2024 semi-final

England face the Netherlands in Dortmund on Wednesday evening for the right to play in Sunday’s final.

While Gareth Southgate’s side has made it to the last-four, it’s fair to say that performances still leave much to be desired and the temptation to tinker with the starting XI would be understandable.

We’ll find out soon enough whether the England manger will change what, ultimately, proved to be a winning combination against Switzerland (albeit on penalties), but here are the XIs our stable of football writers would chose if they were in the dugout.

The big call is to leave out Phil Foden. But Harry Kane needs a strike partner and Ivan Toney has done enough to deserve a start. I liked the shape against Switzerland so the other changes would be in defence with Marc Guehi coming straight back in. I would also like Luke Shaw in from the start in place of Kieran Trippier.

Trippier has done nothing wrong but I would rest him and bring in Shaw to give the team balance. England looked in good shape when he came off the bench against the Swiss. This formation can easily slip into a 5-3-2 with Bukayo Saka going to right wing-back. Jude Bellingham has been in a free role so pairing him with Kane is a straightforward switch of position.

Kane is undroppable, so the solution, as I’ve been saying all tournament, is to play two strikers. Toney has been very good, but it is Ollie Watkins who can provide the legs and running for Kane to thrive. Watkins believes he and Kane can emulate the captain’s relationship with Heung Min-Son, so let’s give it a go.

At this point you have to risk Shaw, given the immediate improvement he gave England against Switzerland. Ebere Eze or Trippier can relieve him after an hour. Little chance of Southgate dropping Kane, his captain, and however diminished he has looked it would be no surprise if he scores a crucial goal at a crucial moment on Wednesday.

Playing Shaw is risky given his lack of match fitness, but Trippier has been bang average. Southgate will probably stick with three centre-backs, but that’s problematic since Cody Gakpo is the Dutch’s biggest threat and could force Saka to defend more than attack if the Arsenal man stays at wing-back. It would make a pleasant change for Cole Palmer to be on the pitch before he is tasked with helping to save the team in the last 15 minutes. He deserves his chance from the start.

This is the formation that enabled England to reach the Euro 2020 final, and it is a tactical set-up that seems to offer Southgate’s players more freedom and fluidity. With Shaw still struggling with an injury, there really is no option but to keep the faith with Trippier as a wing-back despite some underwhelming performances. Foden was much improved against Switzerland in the No.10 role and in the right position he has too much ability to be messed about. Kane has also had a poor tournament but this is the business end and dropping him now would make little sense.

HAVE YOUR SAY: Our writers have picked their XIs, now it’s your turn. Tell us what your England team would look like in the comments section below and join the debate...