Netherlands cancel press conference after unexpected setback on the eve on England clash

The Netherlands have been forced to cancel their press conference plans ahead of Wednesday night's semi-final match against England.

It is less than 24 hours until Ronald Koeman's side come up against tournament favourites England at the Signal Iduna Park, and preparations for the Euro 2024 clash have been far from ideal.

On Tuesday afternoon, their travel plans were disrupted due to a blockage on the train track between Wolfsburg and Dortmund.

It means they must take a late flight on Friday evening to make the 155-mile journey.

In fact, the team are believed to be taking off at around 8.20pm, with the pre-match press conference in Dortmund being scheduled to start at 7.45pm.

“We are currently looking for other options,” the team said regarding the press conference, which may now be held over Zoom.

Dutch media suggest players and staff were standing on the train platform when they were informed about the issues.

On the day before a game, each squad typically walk on the pitch to get a feel of their surroundings. Those plans, however, are set to be scuppered for the Netherlands.

In terms of his team selection for Wednesday's semi-final, Koeman says he will keep faith in Memphis Depay.

Speaking about the 30-year-old forward, Koeman told Voetbal International: "He can do better, but that is also due to others, that also has to do with how the team plays.

"Everyone has their opinion, everyone shouts something, but I am the one who experiences the players every day. I see things during training that no one else sees. And with me, players have the right to play a bad match once."

Image credit: Getty

When asked if Depay would start alongside Weghorst against England, like they did in their win over Turkey, he added: "We were behind then, so you can expect to get the ball more often and that the opponent will fold back further.

"Then I can use Memphis as an attacking midfielder, because then you know that there will be crosses that Weghorst plays better than Memphis.

"But of course I did not say in advance for nothing that I always want to play with three specialist midfielders.

"Depay is not one of them. So in principle I will not start with those two. Because if we want to play with wingers, we will also have four attackers."