WHEN giants collide, sparks fly.
And that is exactly what we will be hoping for once again when the Netherlands take on France this Friday.
The two nations favoured to progress from Group D will lock horns with the hopes of topping the group.
Both sides came away with victories in their opening games and can take control of the group with a win here.
The Netherlands triumphed 2-1 over Poland after Wout Weghorst made his mark from the bench after 83 minutes.
Their performance was not becoming of a team who represent total football, with sloppy finishing their main Achilles heel, but getting off to a good start was the main concern in the game.
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Meanwhile, France laboured to a 1-0 win over a tough Austria team courtesy of an own goal from Max Wober.
Kylian Mbappe’s dangerous wing play and cross left Wober with no chance to react as the ball pinged off his head and into the net, but France are not expected to have their trump card for this game.
That is because Mbappe suffered a broken nose against Austria.
While he is expected to return for their final group match against Poland, game two will likely come too soon for the new Real Madrid star.
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Netherlands Euro 2024 guide
RONALD KOEMAN has overhauled Holland’s playing style after returning for a second stint in charge.
Captain Virgil van Dijk will be expected to be a stalwart in defence while Xavi Simons will be hoping for a breakout tournament. But they may miss injured Frenkie de Jong.
MANAGER: Ronald Koeman
Ex-Barcelona and Everton boss was the scourge of England as a player when he knocked Graham Taylor’s side out of World Cup qualifying in 1994.
STAR MAN: Virgil van Dijk
Liverpool star has won everything there is to win at club level and will be counted on to keep things tight at the back.
How Holland attack
The Netherlands will play with a typically Dutch patient possession-based build-up.
They will stagger their positions to play through the lines, but can be overly individualistic in the final third.
How Holland defend
The Dutch will play with a medium block, allowing the opposition to break the first line before engaging in the midfield area.
They can run into problems when they fail to protect the middle of the pitch.
Read the full Netherlands 2024 guide here, including predicted line-ups, odds and Wags
France Euro 2024 guide
FRANCE are the one nation all England fans are truly afraid of.
They are many punters’ favourites after knocking the Three Lions out of the 2022 World Cup and will be hoping to do much better than at Euro 2020, when they lost to Switzerland in the last 16.
MANAGER: Didier Deschamps
Coming up to 12 years in the job, the only thing missing from his CV is a European Championship.
STAR MAN: Kylian Mbappe
Mbappe’s PSG may have underachieved on the European stage but he remains France’s most deadly threat, with a World Cup trophy and a World Cup final hat-trick to his name.
How France attack
Expect to see France play in a fluid 4-3-3 – which becomes 4-2-3-1 in possession – throughout the tournament.
Giroud acts as the focal point in the attack with the two wide players and Griezmann as No 10 supporting.
How France defend
We can expect to see France defend high with an emphasis on winning back possession as far up the pitch as possible.
France will stagger their defensive shape when the opposition are in possession.
Read the full France Euro 2024 guide here, including predicted line-ups, odds and Wags.
What does their form look like?
The Netherlands have won eight of their last ten games.
The only blots on their record have come against France and Germany.
France have lost just two of their last ten games, which included a win over the Netherlands, won six.
However, those two defeats both came against Germany, who themselves had an impressive start to the tournament.
Les Blues also have a major head-to-head advantage in their favour, winning six of the last seven games between the nations.
Overall, France have 16 wins to 11 in their favour, with another three draws between them.
What is the team news and any injuries to worry about?
For the Oranje there are no fresh injury concerns, only the selection dilemmas of whether to start Weghorst up front or to change up personnel out wide.
The likes of Jeremie Frimpong and Donyall Malen looked dangerous off the bench so may be moved in to offer a more dynamic threat than what Xavi Simons offered in the first match.
The big news for France is the likely absence of Mbappe.
It throws up the question of who will replace him, and the potential answer to that could be Kinglsey Coman or Randal Kolo Muani.
Didier Deschamps has the option to move Marcus Thuram up front in place of Mbappe while adding Coman on to the wing.
Alternatively, Thuram could remain on the wing with Kolo Muani up front, or possibly even old favourite Olivier Giroud.
Who will be the star men?
Virgil van Dijk
Captain Virgil van Dijk will be tasked with keeping a clean sheet against one of the best attacks in the world, even without Mbappe.
He largely impressed against Poland in the opener, and his experience will be needed to ensure the Dutch have a chance this game.
N’Golo Kante
Talking of experience, there are not many with more than ex-Chelsea and Leicester star N’Golo Kante.
He is back in the national team after a two-year absence, but his engine is enough to dominate any midfield battle in world football, and with potentially no Mbappe for France his role will be even more important.
What have the managers said?
Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman bemoaned his sides missed chances against Poland and said they were “lucky” to get away with it.
He said: “It should have been 4-1 to us after an hour. We played very well but were not able to find the net.
“It was dangerous for us but we were lucky and we scored a second goal… I think the final result increased our confidence today.”
He added: “I’ve not been thinking of the next line-up, it’s weird to think about that, we’ve just finished this match.
“I don’t know the line-up for the next match. We had to play for about an hour, then we tried with Donyell and Jeremie, fast and pacy. We decided we wanted to have new players like Donyell and Jeremie.
“France have more qualities than Poland, they play with a different style, spaces will be different. That match of course we want to win as well, we want to beat them and that will be our focus.”
Deschamps was pleased enough with the opening win, even if he admitted they could have done better.
He said: “It’s always good to start off with a win against an opponent that is very good, with a lot of athletic qualities, who put a lot of pressure on us.
“We could have managed certain situations better, but overall I would assess the match as a positive.
“We had to fight. And this is important. We need to keep that up for the rest of the tournament.
“I’m satisfied with our first victory. We have 36 hours now to recuperate.
“I don’t think the computer was very nice to us.”
SunSport prediction
France could find it difficult to find the back of the net without their talisman, though we expect that talent to still come to the fore.
That being said, the Dutch are no pushovers and will make a fair go of it, we just don’t see them having enough to get a result.
Netherlands 1-2 France
When is Netherlands vs France?
- France’s huge game against the Netherlands will take place on Friday, June 21.
- The clash will kick off at 8pm BST.
- The Red Bull Arena in Leipzig, Germany will host the Group D match.
What channel is it and can it be live streamed?
- Netherlands vs France will be shown live on BBC One in the UK.
- You can live stream the action on the BBC iPlayer, which is available for download onto your mobile or tablet device.
Can I watch for FREE?
Yes, the game is available to watch for FREE on BBC One and the iPlayer, so long as you have a valid TV licence.
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Odds
- Netherlands – 16/5
- Draw – 13/5
- France – 10/11
*Odds courtesy of William Hill and correct at time of publication.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
