BLOG - 2014 European Under-17 Championship: Final Preview

Preview of the Final (to be played on Wednesday 21st May at the Ta' Qali national stadium)

England v The Netherlands
The Group A qualifiers meet for the third time this season in the final. Their records are currently tied at 1-1 having traded 2-0 victories and, after their respectively impressive semi-final wins, both believe a good performance will see them triumph. The English haven't had as many of those as they would wish with poor displays against the Netherlands in the final group game and the shaky first half against Portugal. Peacock has stated there is still more to come from this side and the Dutch are expecting a very different team to face them than the one they dominated in the group stages.

Adam Armstrong is likely to miss the game through injury with Dominic Solanke taking his place up front, as he did so effectively against the Portuguese, with Joshua Onomah playing behind him in the number 10 role. The Dutch are only missing winger Anthony Berenstein and have widely rotated their squad after a poor showing against Turkey in the first game. Bilal Ould-Chikh and Abdelhak Nouri, who were substitutes all through the qualifiers, are now mainstays of the team which has taken them to the final.

Both sides have excellent attacks and the deciding factors could well be the success of the English midfield in repelling the Dutch and supplying the forward line. For the Netherlands, the test will be how their defence cope when put under significant pressure. However, centre-back Calvin Verdonk has been one of their stars and his exceptional distribution and calm defending have favourably contrasted with his more touted captain Keziah Veendorp, who has often been defensively exposed for a lack of pace, poor body positioning, and timing of tackles. Whoever hides and manages their weaknesses most successfully may well triumph, although England will hope the defensive jitters they brought on themselves with their poor passing out from the back against Portugal do not reoccur as the Dutch are unlikely to forgive them as the Portuguese did.

With thanks for his contributions throughout the tournament to Samuel King, who you can follow on twitter @KingSRV