England boss Lee Carsley was forced to make one change on his side. Tyler Morton was suspended for receiving two yellow cards at the tournament - Elliott Anderson replaced the Liverpool midfielder.
The Netherlands had to deal with three suspensions - Kenneth Taylor and captain Devyne Rensch picked up two yellow cards throughout the tournament, and Ruben van Bommel was sent off in the quarter-final against Portugal. Michael Reiziger replaced the three starters with Antoni Milambo, Neraysho Kasanwirjo, and Ernest Poku.
Kasanwirjo, who'd played just 654 minutes for Feyenoord and Rangers all season, got into trouble early on when Omari Hutchinson terrorised the Dutch right wing. It earned Harvey Elliott a number of chances in the opening phase, but goalkeeper Robin Roefs kept the Dutch in it with two excellent saves.
After England dominated the opening phase and Roefs saved the Dutch day again by saving a dangerous James McAtee effort, the game calmed down, and Oranje found some rhythm to build on. However, neither of their two shots was dangerous enough to shock England.
The Dutch opened the second half brightly and forced England stopper James Beadle to make a crucial save when Ian Maatsen fired a rocket from outside the box.
The Netherlands' offensive was quickly called to a halt when Harvey Elliott opened the scoring in the 62nd minute with a powerful effort from up close, beating Roefs at his near post after the Dutch failed to win a single duel in the build-up and Jorrel Hato missed a tackle.
Michael Reiziger's men immediately upped the ante and were given an attacking boost when Noah Ohio was brought on during the cooling break.
The Utrecht striker immediately made the most of his opportunity when Harvey Elliott lost the ball on the opposite half. Aaron Cresswell made a nightmare mistake by failing to control the ball, which gave Ohio, still over 35 metres away from the goal, the chance to curl the ball around for a surprising equaliser.
An English reply followed at a crucial moment in the match. With four minutes to go in regular time, England captain Harvey Elliott picked up the ball in midfield before being left alone by the Dutch defence, gifting the Liverpool winger the chance to freely shoot at Roefs' goal and hand England a late lead.
The Dutch kept up the pressure in the final minutes, but could not convert on a last-second corner kick as their last push fell short. England booked their spot in the U21 Euros final after Harvey Elliott's double - they'll face the winner of the semi-final between Germany and France.
View all statistics of the semi-final on Flashscore.
