At least 75,000 Dutch fans to descend on Dortmund for semi-final

At least 75,000 Dutch football fans are expected to travel to Dortmund to cheer on the team in their semi-final clash with England at Euro 2024 on Wednesday.

With Dortmund less than 100 kilometres from the border, the football association KNVB said thousands of fans are likely to travel without tickets and watch the match on “fan zone” screens around the city.

UEFA has allocated just 1,500 tickets to Dutch fans, some of which were reportedly changing hands for €800 online on Sunday evening. Three-star hotel rooms in the Ruhr city were being advertised for more than €2,000.

A KNVB delegation travelled to Dortmund on Monday morning to brief local police on the prospect of clashes between English and Dutch supporters.

Fears that the Dutch quarter-final match against Turkey in Berlin could lead to flashpoints proved largely unfounded, although city police made around 60 arrests in the course of the day.

“The atmosphere has been fantastic right through,” KNVB director Marianne van Leeuwen said. “It shows how football brings people together and brings unity at all levels of society.”

British bookmakers make England the slight favourites to win the match in 90 minutes at odds of 8/5, with the Dutch at around 11/5 and a draw rated 2/1.

However, sports data agency Nielsen gives Oranje a 55% chance of reaching their first final since 1988, when they won the tournament in what was then West Germany.

The Dutch beat England 3-1 in the group stages that year in a match that both sides needed to win to stay in the competition. England got their revenge eight years later with a 4-1 win at Wembley stadium, but went on to lose to on penalties to Germany in the semi-finals.