Micky van de Ven is backing his Netherlands team-mates to keep Bukayo Saka quiet when they meet England in the semi-finals of Euro 2024 on Wednesday.
Saka played a starring role as England progressed through the quarter-finals, scoring a crucial equaliser against Switzerland to take the game to extra time and then tucking away his penalty in the shoot-out.
Spurs defender van de Ven admits he is an admirer of Saka but says the Netherlands have what it takes to nullify him.
“Saka is a wonderful footballer with lots of pace but (Virgil) van Dijk and (Nathan) Ake have a lot of pace too and I am sure they can handle him,” he said.
“I know Saka very well from him playing at Arsenal. I faced him twice. We will see if the manager will start me.”
The Tottenham star recorded the fastest ever speed by a Premier League player last season with a top speed of 37.38 km/h against Brentford in January.
Asked whether he backs himself in a race against his Arsenal rival, van de Ven said: “It’s hard to say but if you look at the data I think you know the answer.
“We do read some press and see how they speak about the England team but they are in the semi-finals, that shows they have quality.
“They have played really defensively, that’s true. Today, we will begin analysing them intensively and will learn more.”
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