Netherlands

The Netherlands and Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven on England: "We understand they have taken a lot of flak from the English media but they are in the semi-finals...that says all that needs to be said about the English team.

"I think they play defensively. We will go and analyse them properly, but what I can say is they have a lot of quality."

Richard, Aberdeen: Phil, what do you make of the overall standard and entertainment value of the tournament? I think the players have looked tired. I think they move it to the start of the season so players are fresher.

Phil: It’s not been a classic, Richard, I must admit. England’s games have hardly been thrillers although we have seen exciting moments from countries such as Turkey, Austria and Georgia and the support from the fans has been fantastic – so colourful and noisy – creating great atmospheres.

And no way it will be at the start of the season. Can you imagine clubs’ reaction to that?

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Netherlands

Netherlands and Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo on England: "Their penalties were very good, but if you see the players who took them, quality players, some of them take penalties for their clubs. I was impressed but not surprised. The quality is there and we know they are very good when it comes to penalties. Hopefully if [the semi-final] comes to penalties we will win."

On England and Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham: "Obviously he's having a very, very good season, he's a world-class player and he made a fantastic goal. He's a player we need to watch, but I think they have more players we need to watch, they have a very good team with very good players, but we have a very good team as well."

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Victoria Gaskin, West Kirby: Hello Phil. You said before Euro 2024 that you saw England as serious contenders to be winners. Has what you have seen hardened that view or made you doubt what you said?

Phil: Hello, Victoria. Very tricky question. Both of those things from what I’ve seen. I’ve watched them perform pretty indifferently, which made me wonder why I thought they would be potential winners, then I’ve seen them do all this and still reach the semi-final – which makes me think they have the resilience, as well as the improvement in them, to be winners.

Fence-sitting is a speciality.

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It's funny, but I sometimes wonder whether the performance produced by Terry Venables' side in beating the Netherlands 4-1 at Euro 96 is the yardstick that all other subsequent England teams have been judged by.

Gareth Southgate was, of course, a member of the starting XI on that night, and went on to miss the decisive penalty in the semi-final defeat to Germany.

He has done so much to create a national team the country can be proud of again, even turning them into spot-kick specialists.

But what will his side have to do to be spoken of so favourably in years to come as the Gascoigne-inspired XI who did for the Dutch?

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Well I think we need to look at that again, don't you Rob? It would be rude not to...

Nick, Willenhall: Hi Phil. Have you been surprised by how poor the Netherlands have been defensively, considering the personnel they have (Dumfries and De Vrij won Serie A with Inter, the great Van Dijk and treble winning Ake) and do you think England will exploit this?

Phil: I have been surprised, Nick, especially when they lost to Austria, given the fact they have those players you mention as well as Micky van de Ven. They are, however, a real threat in attack and they will believe they can create real problems for England’s defence.

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Netherlands

The Netherlands and Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven on their semi-final match against England: "If you see the quality of the players from both teams, I think you can expect that the level and the rhythm of the game will be really high.

"Hopefully, it’s us that will have more of the ball than England so that it is England who do the running, but I expect a high intensity game."

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Netherlands

Speaking about the Netherlands, two of their Premier League stars - Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo and Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven - have been speaking to the media before they face England in Wednesday's Euro 2024 semi-final.

We will bring you the top lines from their news conference, while also continuing with Phil McNulty's Q&A...

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Chris from Tilbury: Hi Phil. I think the Dutch will suit us as they actually want to play football and not put seven men behind the ball at all times. What do you think?

Phil: Hello, Chris. We’ve been talking about this a lot since the Switzerland game as England have really struggled against teams who defend deep. The goals from Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka in their last two games against Slovakia and Switzerland have been their first shots on target, emphasising their struggles.

The Netherlands will be cautious but certainly more ambitious in the attacking areas, so this may just suit England more, as you say. I expect a more open game.

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England

A final word from Gareth Southgate on taking England to a third semi-final at a major tournament: "This isn't where we want it to end, but you don't necessarily want to speak about that too much.

"It is an unusual achievement for even the most successful nations but these guys, they've shown more than being able to just play and navigating tournaments.

"You need lots of other qualities - it is that resilience, that ability to stay composed when you go behind in games, or when momentum's against you, winning three penalty shoot-outs out of four.

"All those little bits build character, build belief and hopefully it's not just... there's this tournament, but given the age of the squad and their experiences now, they'll have that belief for a long time.

"It should put England in a good place, but that's the future - we've got a good week ahead of us."

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Daran: Why do you think Gareth Southgate is not more proactive in regards to making much needed substitutions in the heat of battle?

Phil: Hello, Daran. Southgate is certainly reluctant to change things but, in his defence, he has done here – although some as a result of his poor selections that did not work, such as taking Trent Alexander-Arnold out of his ill-suited midfield role after 54 minutes of the second game against Denmark then removing Conor Gallagher after only 45 minutes against Slovenia.

I did think he was very reactive against Switzerland, making three changes the moment England went behind so it’s been a bit of a mixed bag really, but I do think he errs on the side of caution.

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England

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More from England manager Gareth Southgate on how he is dealing with the criticism he has faced during Euro 2024: "Look, I can't deny that some of the personal nature, you know...this is a job where you get ridiculed and your professional capability is questioned beyond belief.

"But I'm fortunate that my life's taken me through a lot of resilience-building and it's made me more determined and I'm just using it as fuel.

"I know where I want to take the team to and the team need to see me strong in those moments as well, otherwise that message that you're giving them on what they need to be, it doesn't ring true."

Paul from Northwich: What did you think about the formation change for Saturday? We looked very light again on the left hand side. But it got Phil Foden consistently in central areas to effect the game. Will we continue with this approach for the semi-final?

Phil McNulty: Yes, Paul, I think England will, although I would be sorely tempted to play Luke Shaw if he was fully fit. He looked good in his cameo as a substitute against Switzerland. This would mean leaving out Kieran Trippier, and Gareth Southgate is always very reluctant to do that.

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England

In case you missed it earlier, England manager Gareth Southgate has said that he is using personal criticism to fuel his attempt to lead his side to Euro 2024 glory.

"I took this job to try to improve English football, to try to give us nights like this," the Three Lions boss told BBC Radio 5 Live after Saturday's victory over Switzerland in the quarter-finals.

"I can't deny then that when things get as personal as it has, that does hurt. I don't think it's normal to have beer thrown at you.

"But we're in a third semi-final in four tournaments, and I think we continue to give people fantastic memories. So we'll keep grinding, we'll keep fighting, and we'll keep enjoying this journey."

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Jez in Cheltenham: Hi Phil. Do you think Gareth will make any major changes to the starting XI or still stick with the current core? Thinking of resting Kane and bringing in Toney perhaps?

McNulty: Hello Jez. I do not think there will be many changes and do not think Gareth Southgate would rest Harry Kane in a Euro 2024 semi-final. I understand why you are asking, though, because Kane was so laboured against Switzerland. I’d be tempted to start Luke Shaw if he was fit but Southgate is always very reluctant to leave out Kieran Trippier.

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We expect to hear from Luke Shaw later this afternoon.

The England defender withdrew from a news conference last week, saying he did not want to talk to the media until he had played in the tournament.

Well now that the Manchester United full-back has done that, he has been pencilled in for today's media briefing.

That should take place some time around 14:15 BST, although these things have a tendency to start later than advertised.