Women's Euros 2017: Five things to know as Lionesses go for glory
Thursday 3 August 2017 18:52, UK
England are looking to make even more history after defeating France 1-0 in the Women's European Championships at the quarter-final stage.
Victory on Sunday was their first against France since 1974 and Mark Sampson's side are edging ever closer to what would be their first major tournament title.
If you're still new to the Lionesses team that is now just two games from glory, here are five things you need to know ahead of Thursday's last-four showdown with host nation the Netherlands...
Solid at the back, sharp in front of goal
England's run to the last four has been impressive. Having been drawn in a tough group with Scotland, Spain and Portugal, England passed their first objective - to qualify for the knockout rounds - with flying colours.
A 6-0 win against England's rivals north of the border was followed up with a 2-0 victory over Spain and a tight 2-1 win over Portugal in Tilburg, a second-string XI doing the business to keep legs fresh.
A quarter-final triumph over France then followed on Sunday evening, with Jodie Taylor scoring her fifth goal of the tournament to secure England's place in their fourth European semi-final.
England have conceded just once so far - Millie Bright and Steph Houghton were defensive rocks against France - but at the other end of the pitch, no side has come close to matching their 11 goals, with nearest rivals Netherlands hitting six.
England's tournament top scorer Taylor said after the Lionesses' win over France: "I rely so much on my team-mates. It's the service and quality of the team.
"I can't put the ball in the back of the net if I don't get the quality balls through, and again I had a chance today, Lucy hit a perfect ball through and I'm just lucky enough to be the one that finishes it."
Captain Houghton added: "All we wanted was to reach the semi-finals of a European Championship and we have done that.
"That is what we are about. The resilience and when we are under pressure, we can soak up that pressure and thankfully Jodie took that goal and that's all we needed, a goal, and we knew we couldn't get broke down."
Jodie Taylor is on fire
The Arsenal striker, who is currently playing for her 12th club aged 31, has stood out as the star of England's tournament so far with five goals to her name.
The forward cemented her place in England football history as her three goals against Scotland ensured she joined a select group with Gary Lineker and Geoff Hurst to score a hat-trick at a major tournament.
A combination of injuries and travel problems, which arose from playing her domestic football abroad, meant she was regularly overlooked to play for the Lionesses.
But England manager Mark Sampson, who was appointed in 2013, decided to bring her into the fold and the decision has paid off - she now has 14 goals in 28 caps for England.
Taylor is the current top scorer at the championships and struck England's winner in their 1-0 quarter-final victory over France to make her the clear front-runner for the Golden Boot.
"This is not luck, this is not just down to ability, Jodie has an obsession with scoring goals and we are so, so proud of her," Sampson told reporters after his side's win over France. "She puts so much work in for the team, too, we are very fortunate to have her."
Mark Sampson - the bold tactician
Sampson's relief when the final whistle blew after the France quarter-final match was clear to see. Renowned for his tactical flexibility, Sampson has put out two different starting XIs throughout the Euros so far.
In the quarter-final against Les Bleus, the 34-year-old Welshman reverted to his first eleven after putting out a second-string side in their third group game against Portugal just a few days earlier.
England's high-pressure style in a relatively scrappy game paid off for Sampson, and he alluded to his team's need to be clinical in such a contest post-match.
"This was a big barrier to overcome that's for sure," he told Sky Sports News.
"This is a great French team who have always proved difficult opponents for us. These types of games, you are not getting many chances. You have got to find a way to stay in it and when you get a chance be clinical and that is exactly what we did."
Netherlands - no pushovers but omens good
The tournament's host nation have never reached a European final but will be striving to do so in front of their home support. A 2-0 victory over Sweden on Saturday means they've had an extra day's rest and, just like England, have only conceded one goal in the entire tournament.
Winger Lieke Martens, who scored Netherlands' opening goal in the Sweden win and was involved in the build-up for their second, will join Barcelona after the Euros and become a team-mate of England's Toni Duggan.
Martens is the Dutch team's joint top tournament goalscorer on two goals and will certainly be one to watch on the left flank, while Arsenal's recent high-profile signing Vivianne Miedema and midfielder Sherida Spitse could also be significant threats.
Interestingly, the only time the Netherlands have reached a Euros semi-final before was against England back in 2009. England, managed by Hope Powell at the time, emerged the winners with a 2-1 win in extra-time.
And England hold the overall head-to-head advantage. In 19 encounters dating back to 1973, England have won 12, drawn four and lost only three.
History-makers?
According to Sky Bet, England are now the 6/5 favourites to win the European Championships.
England have twice been runners-up in 1984 and 2005 but the Lionesses have shown under the bullish Sampson that they're capable of rewriting history, having already surprised many observers when they took bronze in the 2015 World Cup in Canada - the furthest they have ever gone on the global stage.
"We've come into this tournament for one reason and one reason only and that's to win," defender Bright told Sky Sports News. "We're going to use the home support as motivation. We're ready."
Follow the Women's Euros - including England's semi-final v Netherlands on Thursday evening - on skysports.com and the Sky Sports apps.
