Netherlands vs France: Les Bleus can maintain Dutch dominance
- France have won seven of their last eight meetings with Netherlands
- The French have lost only two of their last 19 internationals in regulation time
- Recommended bet: France to win
With Netherlands and France having both made winning starts to Euro 2024, this encounter at the Leipzig Arena is surely going to decide who comes out on top of Group D.
The Dutch were forced to come from behind to record a 2-1 victory over Poland while 2022 World Cup runners-up France ground out a 1-0 win over Austria.
Victory for either should go a long way to securing top spot and a more favourable last-16 tie and, despite the broken nose sustained by talisman Kylian Mbappe, the French should be feeling pretty confident about matters.
Les Bleus defeated the Dutch twice in qualifying for this summer’s spectacle in Germany and, even if Mbappe is forced to miss out through injury, manager Didier Deschamps has an array of attacking talent at his disposal.
Team news
The Netherlands were dealt an almighty blow in the build up to the Euros with midfielders Frenkie de Jong and Teun Koopmeiners both ruled out through injury.
Reports suggest Xavi Simons could be dropped from the side after a mediocre display against Poland, with Donyell Malen and Jeremie Frimpong options to replace him.
Wout Weghorst is likely to remain a super-sub option despite netting a late winner from the bench against the Poles.
For France, Mbappe is a major doubt after sustaining a broken nose in Monday’s win over Austria, although he has already returned to training.
Olivier Giroud will be expected to replace him if required, otherwise Deschamps is expected to name the same side that won their opening game.
The stats
France have won seven of their last eight meetings with Netherlands, which includes both meetings in qualifying.
The French have lost only two of their last 19 internationals in 90 minutes, both of which were friendly encounters with Germany.
Five of the last seven meetings between this pair have gone over 2.5 goals.
13 of the Netherlands’ last 15 internationals have featured three or more goals.
France have conceded in six of their last 10 internationals.
Antoine Griezmann has opened the scoring for France in two of their last five rivalries with the Dutch.
Prediction
Even in the likely absence of Mbappe, France should have enough in reserve to make it two wins from two in Group D at the Netherlands’ expense.
Les Bleus would likely draft in Olivier Giroud as the focal point of their attack and he’d have a strong supporting cast in Marcus Thuram, Ousmane Dembele and Griezmann, which should be enough to deny the Dutch in Leipzig.
These two met in qualifying and France triumphed on both occasions, winning 4-0 at home before a 2-1 victory away in Amsterdam, and they have dominated this recent rivalry with seven successes in the last eight encounters.
Despite defeating Poland 2-1 in their opening match, the Netherlands were forced to come from behind and they were terrible at defending set pieces, while also sometimes prone to Polish pace on the break.
France should, therefore, have the weapons to come out on top and they have to make plenty of appeal at the prices.
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