大象传媒

Nations League semi-final: England beaten by Netherlands

  • Published
England-captain-Harry-Kane.Image source, Getty Images

England men's football team were beaten in extra time by a strong Netherlands side in the Nations League semi-final on Thursday evening.

The team will now face Switzerland in the third-place play-off in Guimaraes in Portugal on Sunday.

Manchester United star Marcus Rashford scored a penalty in the first half having been fouled by Matthijs de Ligt.

However, the Netherlands captain redeemed himself by equalising with just 17 minutes remaining in the match.

In a cruel twist, England's Jessie Lingard had a goal disallowed after the Video Assistant Referee found him offside, taking the match to extra time.

The Netherlands then took advantage of some poor England defending and scored two more goals.

They will now face Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal side in the final on Sunday.

What is the Nations League?

The Nations League is a new international tournament in which European football nations compete against each other in a league format.

Media caption,

WATCH: We all know that friendly matches can be a little boring

They are matched in groups against countries of a similar level.

Like in normal league football, teams that do well can be promoted from one level to another and those that do badly can be knocked down a level.

The winner will be crowned the Nations League champion and will get a fancy trophy.

There are also four places at the 2020 European Championships up for grabs.