Netherlands vs France Prediction-A battle of Group D behemoths headlines Friday’s Euro 2024 fixtures, as the Netherlands and France pit their wits against each other at the Red Bull Arena for the right to guarantee last-16 progression.
Ronald Koeman’s men battled back from a goal down to sink Poland 2-1 in their first match, while Les Bleus also scraped a narrow success against Austria, despite their star man being hampered by injury.
Match preview
Netherlands vs France Prediction-The absence of wonder marksman Robert Lewandowski initially did not spoil their chances of claiming a shock scalp against the Netherlands in their Group D opener, as his able deputy – Adam Buksa – saw a superb header into the far corner after just 16 minutes.
However, the Netherlands responded after just 13 minutes as Cody Gakpo’s deflected effort deceived Wojciech Szeczny and, with just seven minutes of normal time remaining, Wout Weghorst scored his own hero arc to complete the Dutch turnaround.
Koeman was more than relieved to see his bold tactical decision pay off – the former Barcelona boss admits he considered playing Memphis deep behind Weghurst but ended up replacing the former for another Manchester United flop, whose winner took the Oranje top of Group D.
Courtesy of their superior goal tally over France, the Netherlands will secure themselves a top-two finish by winning Friday’s match, which would represent a fourth straight victory after 4-0 friendly losses to Canada and Iceland in their warm-up matches. Fixtures up.
Furthermore, taking penalty shootouts out of the equation, only one of the Netherlands’ last 17 games at major tournaments has ended in defeat, although that came in the delayed Euro 2020 competition, where they were stunned 2–0 by the Czech Republic. .
Indeed, a 2-1 friendly defeat to Germany in March was the only reverse that Koeman’s men have suffered in their last eight battles – underlining their status as genuine contenders for Euro 2024 glory – but their upcoming opponents certainly had their numbers to qualify. .
Netherlands vs France Prediction-Before quickly reuniting with their Dutch foes in the same finals section, France beat Oranje 4-0 at home and also won the preliminary round 2-1, putting Didier Deschamps’ men firmly on their side of history. Netherlands vs France Prediction football week.
As with the Netherlands, Les Bleus’ opening success of the tournament – a 1-0 win over in-form Austria thanks to an own goal by Maximilian Ober – did not come without a hard effort, although they could have overtaken the Oranje. Kylian Mbappé in the first place did not miss one glorious one after another.
Netherlands vs France Prediction-Although the Real Madrid new boy didn’t get the ball home on that occasion, he caused serious concern when he smashed his face into Kevin Danso’s shoulder, receiving a broken nose and a yellow card for his trouble; He returned to the field without permission in a substitution farce.
However, Mbappe’s assist on Ober’s own goal meant second-placed France also progressed to the last 16 with a win on Friday, and Deschamps’ men found a resilient defensive streak when it mattered most, recording three clean sheets in the spin.
If Les Bleus come up against Trump on Friday evening, it will mark the fourth time they have won both of their first Euro competitions in a single tournament, having won in 1984, 2000 and 2016, Netherlands vs France Prediction-the three years in which they reached the final. .
By doubling up on the Dutch in qualifying, France followed the established pattern between the two countries; they have won seven of their last eight matches against the Netherlands, although the Oranje have won their last two in Euro finals, including a 4-1 demolition in the 2008 group stage.
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There were no injury concerns for the Netherlands in their hard-fought win over Poland, and with Brian Brobie – absent from that win with a hamstring problem – now training with the team again, Koeman should get every man at his disposal.
The only minor setback for the Orange boss could come in midfield, as Joey Beerman’s yellow card on Sunday means he will face a one-game ban if booked here too, but Koeman shouldn’t entertain such speculation for a match of this magnitude.
The Netherlands coach has not completely closed the door on Weghurst starting after his late heroics at the weekend, but Depay – five shy of equaling Robin van Persie’s record 50 goals for the men’s side – should hold off his colleague for time. Netherlands vs France Prediction being.
Koeman understandably refused to give anything away in his pre-match press conference about Weghurst’s possible identity, although Daniel Mallen and Jeremy Frimpong have been named as potential starters by local media.
Speaking of the attacking situation, Blues fans were anxiously awaiting news on Mbappe, who was left with a bloody nose and shirt following the Danso incident, but the former Paris Saint-Germain attacker could still feature in the latter stages of the tournament. Netherlands vs France Prediction the mask.
Mbappe has now been spotted in training donning his protective gear – decorated in the colors of the French flag and their emblem – and Deschamps refused to rule out the possibility of a surprise appearance for the 25-year-old.
However, French media have reported that Mbappe will sit out Friday’s crunch clash, and Deschamps is expected to call on record goalscorer Olivier Giroud to fill the void; The 37-year-old is dealing with some groin pain, but nothing that should affect his availability.
Eduardo Kamavinga (ankle) and his Real Madrid team-mate Aurelien Choumeni (foot) are also expected to be given the green light to play, but should not displace N’Golo Kante, who rolled back the years with an industrious midfield performance against Austria.
Netherlands Probable Starting Lineup:
Verbruggen; Dumfries, De Vries, Van Dijk, Ake; Schouten, Veerman; Simmons, Reijnders, Gakpo; Deep
France probable starting lineup:
Magnan; Kaunde, Saliba, Upamecano, Hernandez; Kante, Rabiot; Dembele, Griezmann, Thuram; Giroud
Netherlands vs France Prediction: Netherlands 0-0 France
Netherlands vs France Prediction-Mbappe’s lightning burst to pick out France’s Austrian lock was crucial to the pace, with his potential absence robbing Les Bleus of their X-factor for Friday’s tie with the Titans, where the defense could come out on top.
Netherlands vs France Prediction-The Netherlands may have been in free-scoring mode for much of last year, but Deschamps’ defense is one of the toughest nuts to crack right now, and this blockbuster could very well end without the net bulling.