The Dutch national team already had their hands full as they prepare for their semifinal game against England on Wednesday, but travel issues created another hurdle for the Netherlands at Euro 2024.
Initial travel plans had the Dutch taking a train from Wolfsburg to host city Dortmund. But Dutch media reported players and staff were on the train platform when they found out their train was canceled due to a "blockage" on the train line.
The team then took to the air, flying 186 miles to Dortmund, and in turn missing their pre-match press conference at Westfalenstadion where head Ronald Koeman and defender Nathan Aké were supposed to speak to the media.
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England head coach Gareth Southgate said he didn't believe the Dutch’s travel delay would have any effect on the game.
"We don’t play until 9 p.m. tomorrow, so there’s plenty of time," Southgate said with a smile. "I’m sure they’ll still get dinner when they arrive."
The Dutch went 1-1-1 in the group stage, defeating Poland 2-1, tying France 1-1, and falling to Austria 3-2.
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In the round of sixteen, Netherlands shutout Romania 3-0 before defeating Turkey 2-1 in a come-from-behind win in the quarterfinals on Saturday to advance to the semifinals.
It is commonplace for teams to walk around the field the day before the game during the Euro 2024 tournament, but due to their delayed travel, the Dutch team will not be able to do so.
On their road to the semifinal, England went 1-0-2 in the group stage, defeating Serbia 1-0 while tying Denmark 1-1 and Slovenia 0-0.
England beat Slovakia 2-1 in the round of sixteen before taking down Switzerland in penalties 1-1 (5-3) to set up their semifinal match against the Netherlands on Wednesday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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