The Netherlands play England in a crucial semi-final meeting on Wednesday in a bid to make their first final since their victorious 2007 campaign.
Speaking to reporters in Bratislava, Netherlands manager Michael Reiziger said he won't underestimate Lee Carsley's England side. "We've watched all their games this tournament. These are two strong teams that love to play football. It's going to be an interesting game tomorrow."
The former Champions League winner said the two teams are similar in some ways. "We didn't start very well, so we improve every time," Reiziger said, almost like Carsley said about his team earlier today.
New captain
With captain Devyne Rensch suspended after accumulating too many yellow cards, Ajax stalwart Hato will captain his side in the crucial game against England. "Of this group, he particularly has a lot of experience. He's gained a lot of experience in the senior Netherlands squad, and he's already worn the armband for Ajax last season," said Reiziger, who admitted he had options for who he'd make captain.
"You also have Rav van den Berg, who's often been the Middlesbrough captain last season. Those three (Rensch, Hato, Van der Berg) will talk a lot with each other."
Hato will play his 60th match of the season against England - an admittedly high number, according to Reiziger. "But he's doing well. Physically, he's improving constantly. You could see him getting more energy. He's clearly growing in his energy."
The Netherlands opened their Euros poorly with a 2-2 draw against Finland and a 2-1 loss to Denmark, despite having dominated both games in possession and shot attempts. After beating Ukraine in the final group stage match, the Young Lions upset tournament favourites Portugal by winning 1-0 after going down to ten men after 20 minutes.
Suspensions
However, Reiziger and his team will have to overcome a new challenge, as midfielder Kenneth Taylor and winger Ruben van Bommel also serve suspensions. "We're gonna miss them," Reiziger said during Wednesday's press conference.
Ajax's Youri Regeer seems the obvious choice to replace Rensch at the right-back spot, even though he's disappointed this tournament with a fatal mistake against Finland and a red card against Ukraine.
Reiziger keeps believing in his pupil, insisting he still holds the same credit as everyone else. "Everyone who’s here has plenty of credit. I have plenty of options in this squad," said Reiziger, who admitted Bjorn Meijer is also an option.
Reiziger would not say who will replace Van Bommel on the left wing. Ernest Poku impressed during his winning cameo against Portugal, but Reiziger kept it a secret: "I'm not going to make the opponent any wiser."
Antoni Milambo is an often-mentioned option to replace Taylor in midfield, but the Feyenoord talent has only played 51 minutes this tournament. Reiziger said the reason for this is his delight with how the current midfield functions. "I see Milambo more as a box-to-box player. We've had other players for that. In midfield, there's a lot to pick from.
"It could be Banzuzi too, he played like that at Leuven as well. It could be so that someone else could play there, and that we will play defensively, so I have options."
'Almost not English'
Discussing Lee Carsley's England, Reiziger noted he almost finds the side 'un-English good'.
"For how we know English football, this is a very well-playing team with many good qualities. It will be a challenging task, but that makes sense as we’re among Europe’s four best teams."
The meeting in a hot Bratislava - temperatures around kick-off will stick around 30 degrees celsius - will be the first at the U21 Euros since semi-final in 2007. The Netherlands won that meeting after penalties, and Reiziger hopes his side will avoid having to go that far.
"I hope that we’ll have won it before that, but if we have to do it on penalties, we’ll do that. Let’s be honest, you play a tournament to win. We could get closer tomorrow."
Compared to Portugal, Reiziger thinks Oranje will have to be at their best to beat England. "They’re two different sides. I thought we started very well against Portugal, then they got some opportunities.
"We had to fall back after the red card, which didn’t suit Portugal. I don’t think that will be the case for England; they take a lot of attacking initiative, so I hope we don’t get reduced to ten men."