England face the Netherlands on Wednesday night in the semi-finals of Euro 2024.
From a Chelsea perspective, Cole Palmer and Conor Gallagher will be hoping they have a role to play in England reaching the final of an international tournament.
Incidentally, the winners of tonight’s match will face Spain on Sunday in the final.
Palmer, 22, is still yet to start any match for England at this Euros.
However, the Chelsea attacker has emerged as a really important option off the bench for Three Lions manager Gareth Southgate.
It’s no surprise he scored his spot-kick during England’s penalty shootout win over Switzerland in the quarter-finals.
Stuart Pearce hopes Cole Palmer plays significant role for England
Stuart Pearce has claimed that Chelsea’s Palmer should have a chance to feature during England’s semi versus the Netherlands.
When discussing Palmer on talkSPORT, Pearce said: “We’ve got an outstanding substitute that’s come on and influenced the games.
“He’s come on and been magnificent.
“… Listen, he is on such good form at the moment. He’s got such arrogance on a football pitch that if he doesn’t play a real large part of this game [against the Netherlands] it will be quite disappointing for us.
“He looks a match-winner himself.”
Chelsea star leads key England statistic
Palmer didn’t feature in England’s opening two matches of the tournament, but he’s been a substitute in the three games that have followed.
The major difference when the Chelsea attacker is on the pitch is that he’s direct and super positive.
Here below is the England players with the most progressive passes per 90 minutes so far at Euro 2024, data provided by FBREF.
| Player name | Progressive passes (per 90) |
| Cole Palmer | 9.23 |
| Trent Alexander-Arnold | 8.00 |
| Kyle Walker | 6.84 |
| Kieran Trippier | 6.00 |
| Luke Shaw | 6.00 |
| Jude Bellingham | 5.37 |
| Declan Rice | 5.26 |
| Kobbie Mainoo | 4.35 |
| Bukayo Saka | 4.00 |
| Phil Foden | 3.80 |
Even if Palmer doesn’t start against the Netherlands, he needs to be given enough time off the bench to make his mark.
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