Netherlands head coach Ronald Koeman insisted that travel delays experienced by his team will not affect them ahead of their Euro 2024 semi-final with England on Tuesday.
The Netherlands were due to travel from their tournament training base in Wolfsburg to Dortmund, but those plans were disrupted by a blockage on the route that caused their service to be cancelled.
Instead, Koeman and his squad flew to Dortmund, arriving at their hotel on Tuesday evening.
"It was not a problem, we had a good rest this afternoon, we were on the plane for just 30 minutes, arrived at our hotel and we can have a good rest tonight,” Koeman said in an interview with UEFA after his scheduled pre-match press conference had to be cancelled because of the delay.
This will be the fourth meeting between the two sides at a major tournament, with England and the Netherlands both winning once.
England have triumphed just once in their last nine meetings with the Netherlands in all competitions, but Koeman is expecting a tough encounter against the Three Lions.
“We know that there is really not much difference between the two teams, it’s really 50-50 in my opinion,” Koeman said. “But we will need the perfect game to win.
“We know they have a lot of individual qualities but both teams are really strong and it will be a good fight,” he predicted.
The Netherlands came from a goal behind to secure their place in the semi-finals of the competition, beating Turkiye 2-1 in Berlin last Saturday.
England, meanwhile, needed penalties to edge past Switzerland, something Koeman believes could be an advantage ahead of kick-off.
“England had to play extra time in their last game (against Switzerland) so maybe that could be a difference in the latter stages of the match," Koeman said.
"We are sharp, we are focused and we are looking forward to playing a good match against them."
Manning bemoans Bristol City struggles after Severnside derby draw
Bristol City manager Liam Manning was left to rue another disappointing showing after Sunday's 1-1 draw with Championship strugglers Cardiff City.
Manning's side are eight places and six points clear of bottom-side Cardiff after a frustrating performance at Ashton Gate.
Luke McNally's powerful header 17 minutes from time rescued the hosts after Bluebirds winger Ollie Tanner had the away side ahead with a fine individual goal in the second half of the Severnside derby.
Tanner and Rubin Colwill both missed presentable chances with Cardiff leading and Manning conceded his side were far too open in a performance that has characterised their stop-start campaign.
"I think when I look at the week, it's probably a little bit of us this season. I'm frustrated, I think, that we haven't got more points," Manning said on Sky Sports.
"I thought we had some good moments and good chances, especially early on. Probably frustrated is how I am feeling right now.
"We gave up too many chances, too many little bits that weren't quite right that led to them having decent opportunities, which probably didn't happen in the previous two games.
"I think the division will be one of the tightest in a long while. The margins are so fine."
McNally's late leveller came after Cardiff failed to clear their lines following Fally Mayulu hitting the post.
Interim Cardiff manager Omer Riza was frustrated to concede in such a way, saying his side had worked on similar situations in the week building up to the hotly anticipated second-tier derby.
"The boys played really well, they played with energy and with character," Riza said on BBC Radio Wales Sport.
"We wanted to dominate the ball and I felt we did that in certain instances in the game and we managed to get our noses in front.
"We are a little bit deflated in the end not to come away with the three points because the goal has come from something we've been working on, clearing our lines at the right times and not taking risks.
"The performance overall was wholehearted and the boys showed that they care about the supporters and care about the team."
Williams shares blame as Athletic miss three penalties against Girona
Inaki Williams acknowledged Athletic Bilbao missing three penalties against Girona cannot happen in LaLiga, while taking the blame for his part in the disappointment.
Alex Berenguer was denied by Paulo Gazzaniga in the first half from 12 yards, with Williams then denied in the second period by the Girona goalkeeper on Sunday.
Gazzaniga was adjudged to have stepped off his line too early for the Williams spot-kick save, though the former Tottenham man then saved from Ander Herrera's retaken penalty.
In a remarkable turn of fate, Cristhian Stuani converted a 99th-minute penalty for the visiting Girona to snatch a 2-1 victory, much to the dismay of Athletic winger Williams.
"There are no excuses, we missed three penalties. I plead absolutely guilty, we can't miss three penalties. This can't happen in LaLiga," a frustrated Williams said.
With Williams' miss not officially counting due to the retake, Athletic became the first side in LaLiga to miss two penalties in one match since Real Madrid in 2022.
It was also the first time this century that the Basque club have suffered such a feat in the competition, solely down to the heroic exploits of Gazzaniga.
"I'm happy for the three points the team got. I don't remember another match like this," Gazzaniga said.
"Again, I would like to highlight the work of the team because without them it wouldn't have been possible.
"We were studying the penalties with the goalkeeping coach and this time it worked out well."
Girona's victory ended a four-match winless run in LaLiga heading into the October international break.
Flick keen to avoid Barcelona and Bayern comparisons
Hansi Flick's Barcelona have made a flying start to the season, but he was reluctant to draw comparisons with his all-conquering Bayern Munich team.
Barca moved three points clear at the top of LaLiga after Robert Lewandowski's first-half hat-trick helped them to a 3-0 victory over Deportivo Alaves on Sunday.
In the league, Barcelona have already scored 28 goals in nine games, more than any other team in the division, and the most of any team across the top five European leagues.
Flick took interim charge at Bayern midway through the 2019-20 season, guiding them to a treble by winning the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and the Champions League.
However, the manager believes it is too early to compare the two sides.
"No, no, I don't like that. This team is different," Flick told reporters.
"The situation is different. At the moment, things look good. I'm happy to be the coach of this team, but I know that things can change really quickly in football.
"We value what we have, it's fantastic to see things work... What this team is doing is amazing. The atmosphere in the dressing room is great.
"It's not just about winning and losing. We analyse matches, that's why we have a very large group of analysts. We want to show the players what we can improve on for the next match."
Lewandowski's hat-trick was the fourth-earliest ever scored by a Barcelona player in LaLiga (32 minutes), and took his tally up to 10 goals in the competition.
Flick was full of praise for his striker, who was part of that treble-winning team at Bayern.
"Lewandowski is the same player I knew in Munich, and he's the best in the box. What he does is fantastic, he's always ready to score," Flick added.
"I think we should praise everyone in the team, they're all helping him. He's in good form, and I'm happy to see that. I'm happy for the three points and happy with Lewy's performance.
"In the first half, we didn't make any mistakes, we didn't allow Alaves to play their game. That was the key to winning."
The only blemish at the Mendizorrotza Stadium was the injury suffered by forward Ferran Torres, who limped off five minutes into the game.
"We still don't know what injury Ferran has, but it looks muscular. We'll see with the medical tests tomorrow," Flick said.
"Ferran's injury is worrying. We don't have many options in attack, but we'll see what happens.
"We hope to recover the injured players in the international break. We will see in the next two weeks, and we hope they return in good shape."
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