Having taken full control of Group B, France will be looking to secure their Euro 2024 place with two games to spare in qualifying on Friday night.
However, their toughest test, on paper, is next on the horizon for Didier Deschamps’ men as they travel to Amsterdam to take on the Netherlands. The Dutch endured a wretched start to qualifying when they were beaten 4-0 by France in the reverse fixture, but they’ve since won three on the bounce to leave them in a strong position.
Friday’s hosts are currently second in Group B and are level on points with Greece in third. The Greeks, though, have played a game more and their head-to-head duel on Monday will be decisive.
Even a point for Netherlands on Friday would be huge, but a long list of injuries has made their task even trickier.
Here’s 90min’s preview of France’s upcoming Euro 2024 qualifier against the Netherlands.
Netherlands vs France H2H Record (Last Five Games)
Current Form (Last Five Games)
|
Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
Viaplay Sports 2 |
|
United States |
Fox Sports 2, fuboTV, Foxsports.com, ViX, FOX Sports App |
|
Canada |
DAZN, TVA Sports |
International football rights holders around the world
|
Country |
Broadcaster |
|---|---|
|
Argentina |
ESPN |
|
Brazil |
TVGlobo, SporTV, GloboPlay (streaming), ESPN, Star+ (streaming) |
|
France |
TF1, M6, DAZN |
|
Germany |
DAZN |
|
Italy |
RAI, Sky Sport, Channel 20 (free to air) |
|
Spain |
TVE |
The hosts will be missing several key players this month and are set to be short-handed for their upcoming qualifier.
Matthijs de Ligt, Frenkie de Jong, and Cody Gakpo, who all started Netherlands’ last outing against Ireland, are all absent from Ronald Koeman’s squad. Calvin Stengs has also replaced Noa Lang, while Andries Noppert is in for Brentford’s Mark Flekken.
Netherlands predicted lineup vs France (3-4-3): Verbruggen; Van Dijk, De Vrij, Ake; Dumfries, De Roon, Wieffer, Blind; Simons, Malen, Bergwijn.
Lucas Hernandez could also be deployed at centre-back with brother Theo marauding down the left.
Adrien Rabiot will likely continue in the middle of the park, while Kylian Mbappe is a guarantee to start alongside striker-turned-goalkeeper Olivier Giroud.
France predicted lineup vs Netherlands (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Pavard, Konate, L. Hernandez, T. Hernandez; Tchouameni, Rabiot; Dembele, Griezmann, Mbappe; Giroud.
While the Dutch are playing host the a major nation on Friday, Monday’s trip to Greece is undoubtedly the bigger game. That’s the one they’ve got to win.
Given their injuries and France’s potency in qualifying, the hosts have little chance of prevailing on home soil. While they’re unlikely to be blown away as they were in March, Les Bleus should coast to three points and secure their place in Germany next summer.
Prediction: Netherlands 0-2 France
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90Mins
