DHAKA: Another semifinal loss, another missed chance for England to end its title drought.

The Netherlands took advantage of two sloppy defensive mistakes by England in extra time to earn a 3-1 win in the semifinals of the Nations League on Thursday, extending England's run of more than five decades without a trophy.

An own goal by Kyle Walker gave the Dutch the lead after John Stones gave the ball away in the first half of extra time, and Ross Barkley then misplayed a back pass to gift the Netherlands a third goal in the 114th minute.

"Throughout the game we made too many mistakes in our third of the pitch," England coach Gareth Southgate said. "Partly that was a consequence of their pressure but partly that was errors by us. The last two goals were really difficult errors to account for."

The Dutch will play the final of UEFA's newest competition against host Portugal in Porto on Sunday, when it will try to lift its first trophy since the 1988 European Championship.

The Netherlands had failed to qualify for both the 2016 European Championship and the 2018 World Cup.

England, which was seeking its first title since the 1966 World Cup, will play Switzerland in the third-place game in Guimaraes, also on Sunday.

England hasn't celebrated a title since that World Cup at home, and it has lost the last four competitive semifinals it played in, including in the World Cup last year, at the 1996 European Championship and in the 1990 World Cup.

Source: USA Today

BDST: 1102 HRS, JUN 7, 2019
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