Micky van de Ven has hailed England’s quality but believes they play “really defensively” as the Netherlands set about analysing their opponents before a heavyweight semi-final in Dortmund on Wednesday. Van de Ven, who expects “a Premier League-style game” with high intensity, and his teammate Cody Gakpo said they were aware England had received criticism at home and were under pressure to produce.
“We do read some press and see how they speak about the England team but they are in the semi-finals – that shows they have quality,” the Tottenham defender Van de Ven said. “They have played really defensively, that’s true. Today, we will begin analysing them intensively and will learn more.”
