Netherlands 3-1 England: 5 Talking Points & Tactical Analysis

#1 Barca-bound Frenkie de Jong shines, Dutch earn final berth

de Jong was tireless both in-and-out of possession and oozed class as the Man of the Match on this occasion

With each passing day, Barcelona will be increasingly glad they managed to complete the signing of Frenkie de Jong before these last few months intensified just how good the 22-year-old already is to the rest of the world.

€75m (£66.5m) spent to secure the Ajax midfielder's services and naturally, they will be hoping teammate de Ligt joins him at Barca in the coming months. However, he shone as the Man of the Match in a classy display by the type of player England themselves have lacked in central midfield - to bridge the gap between encouraging promise and a winning machine.

In a climate where transfer fees are vastly inflated by a number of factors, it'd be too simplistic to claim de Jong will succeed Sergio Busquets at the Nou Camp. There's no reason why he can't be a better version of the experienced Spaniard for years to come and individual displays like this one prove exactly why.

101/105 passes completed (96.2% accuracy), a game-high five tackles, whopping 13 ball recoveries, three interceptions, two aerial duels, dribbles and key passes completed: all before being replaced for Marseille's Kevin Strootman deep into second-half extra-time.

He was more than the typical metronome and proved a nuisance for England both in possession and out of it. Whether it was tirelessly harrying opponents into mistakes or starting attacks with patience and surgical poise as he always does, Declan Rice said he'd be eager to nullify his impact in an intriguing midfield battle. Instead, he and the rest of England's midfielders were second best against one of the world's best.