On Sunday, the Netherlands need only a draw against Belgium to win Group D and advance to the UEFA Nations League finals. Due to the head-to-head nature of the Nations League, Belgium must score four goals in Amsterdam after losing 4-1 to their neighbors in June.
Team News
Netherlands
- Teun Koopmeiners and Memphis Depay are unlikely to play against Belgium after suffering head and muscle injuries, respectively, against Poland in the midweek victory.
- As a result, Gakpo could advance with Steven Berghuis and Marten de Roon bolstering the midfield in an effort toto deny De Bruyne and Eden Hazard valuable space between the lines.
- Matthijs de Ligt and Tyrell Malacia present possibilities to come into the defense. However, Van Gaal may not want to tinker with his back line after keeping a clean sheet in Warsaw. This means that Remko Pasveer, who made his international debut on Thursday at the age of 38, might retain his position in goal.
Belgium
- Belgium, on the other hand, appeared to have emerged from their victory over Wales unharmed in terms of injuries. This allows Martinez to use an unchanged starting lineup if he so chooses.
- At right wing-back, Timothy Castagne might replace Thomas Meunier to shake things up, while Arthur Theate could into the back three, allowing Toby Alderweireld to switch to his preferred side.
- Batshuayi hopes to build a claim for more regular starts in attack in the absence of Romelu Lukaku due to injury, having scored in both of his past two international appearances.
Possible Lineup
Netherlands: Pasveer; Timber, Van Dijk, Ake; Dumfries, De Roon, De Jong, Berghuis, Blind; Bergwijn, Gakpo
Belgium: Courtois, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Theate; Castagne, Tielemans, Witsel, Carrasco; De Bruyne, Hazard, and Batshuayi.
Prediction Analysis
Due to Belgium’s need for a decisive victory to advance to the next stage of the Nations League, Sunday’s match in Amsterdam is likely to be an open, entertaining contest.
Both team’s scores have occurred in 80% of both nations’ matches during the current season. Therefore it would be surprising if either goalie retained a clean sheet. However, Netherlands should be able to hold on to the Group D lead.
Our prediction is Netherlands 2-2 Belgium