Euro 2024 - live: England news and analysis with Gareth Southgate’s side preparing for semi-finals

A German referee who was banned over his part in a match-fixing scandal and who has a history with Jude Bellingham will take charge of England’s Euro 2024 semi-final against the Netherlands on Wednesday.

Felix Zwayer, 43, was given a six-month ban by his country’s football federation in 2006, having worked as an assistant referee alongside Robert Hoyzer.

Zwayer was one of the officials who brought Hoyzer’s match-fixing plot to light, with the relatively short duration of Zwayer’s ban a recognition of that contribution. Hoyzer was banned for life.

England have been playing international football for 152 years but it may be wrong to throw it back that far. They could have ventured to World Cups before the Second World War but, in their arrogance and isolationism, chose not to; they first played in a tournament in 1950, 74 years ago.

Since then, there were four semi-finals: 1966, 1968 (in a four-team tournament), 1990 and 1996, only two on home soil. Then came the Southgate years and there have been three more. They are coming at three-year intervals: 2018, 2021 (in the delayed Euro 2020) and now 2024.

Luke Shaw says he is fit to start England’s Euro 2024 semi-final against the Netherlands having revealed a recent setback in training meant he feared his tournament was over before it had even started.

The 28-year-old endured his “most frustrating season” to date having dealt with “injury after injury”, restricting him to just 15 appearances for Manchester United.

Shaw suffered a hamstring injury in mid-February that he hoped to return from before May’s FA Cup final, only to suffer a tear that laid him low for a further six weeks and made him a doubt for the Euros.

Phil Foden believes Gareth Southgate’s change of formation suits him better and will help bring the best out of Jude Bellingham and him.

Southgate switched to a 3-4-2-1 system for England’s Euro 2024 quarter-final win over Switzerland with Foden, who had played on the left when England opted for 4-2-3-1, instead given a new role as the right-sided No 10.

And the Manchester City player believes it liberated him by allowing him to take up more different positions and to trouble the Swiss.

Trent Alexander-Arnold had to wait for his moment. More than six years, since his England debut, during tournaments when he was injured or underused. For three-and-a-half games, after the experiment – as it has been semi-officially termed – of starting with him in midfield was abandoned. For 115 minutes, until he was brought on against Switzerland. For the duration of a penalty shootout, until he was up last.

“You’ve got to be ready for the moment when it comes and I think the other day I epitomised that more than anything,” he said. Ready? He seemed to relish it. Sometimes penalties are described as ‘unstoppable’. Perhaps Alexander-Arnold’s actually was, dispatched past Yann Sommer with a blend of power and accuracy. It measured 125.6kmph (78mph), making it the hardest shot in the tournament so far.

Trent Alexander-Arnold has sprung to Harry Kane’s defence by saying any of their opponents would love to see the England captain dropped.

Kane has been criticised for his performances in Euro 2024, where he has looked off the pace despite scoring two goals.

But Alexander-Arnold described the Bayern Munich striker as the best finisher he has ever seen and said Kane’s record of 65 international goals speaks for itself.

Around the England camp, the players know not to even indulge the idea that Euro 2024 has handed them a “forgiving draw”. Gareth Southgate has already bristled at the idea in press conferences, so it’s easy to imagine the attitude with the squad.

Players being players, though, one or two can’t help talking about how they would rather not have faced Spain or France yet. That isn’t to disrespect Netherlands, but Ronald Koeman’s team clearly aren’t comparable to the great Dutch sides of the past, nor the other semi-finalists.

Jadon Sancho has praised Bukayo Saka for his redemptive penalty for England football team at the European Championship that went some way to banishing the memories of their high-profile shootout misses at the previous tournament in 2021.

Sancho, Marcus Rashford and Saka either missed or had their spot kicks saved in the shootout won by Italy at the Euro 2020 final at Wembley Stadium. They are all Black players and they received vicious racist abuse on social media afterward.

Saka was one of the five England players to score in the shootout win over Switzerland in the Euro 2024 quarterfinals on Saturday and Sancho sent a heartwarming message to his friend.

Ben Stokes admitted he has found it difficult to see the ‘backlash’ England’s footballers have received at times during the European Championships.

England reached the semi-finals of Euro 2024 after a perfect penalty shootout to secure victory over Switzerland, and face the Netherlands in the semi-finals on Wednesday.

Plastic beer cups have been thrown at Gareth Southgate, who has also been the target of pointed comments from high-profile pundits, and the camp as a whole has faced a battle to drown out the wall of noise.

That win over Switzerland on penalties was Gareth Southgate’s 100th match in charge of England - if he’s celebrating after No.102 in a week’s time, the whole nation will be having a party.

He has won 60 of his games in charge, with 24 draws and only 16 defeats.

In major tournaments he has taken England to the semi-finals of World Cup 2018, the final of Euro 2020, the quarter-finals of World Cup 2022 and now the semis again at Euro 2024...so far.

England’s run at the Euros this summer:

1-0 vs Serbia

1-1 vs Denmark

0-0 vs Slovenia

2-1 vs Slovakia, AET

1-1 vs Switzerland, 5-4 on pens