New Delhi: The Red Bull Arena Leipzig is all set to witness another massive clash of UEFA Euro 2024 between France and the Netherlands. The suspense surrounding the playing chances of Kylian Mbappe has dominated the headlines ahead of the blockbuster fixture. Mbappe suffered a severe nose injury during France’s 1-0 win against Austria in the opener. The images of Mbappe’s bloody nose hogged the limelight more than the result itself.
The pictures of Mbappe training on the eve of the match against the Dutch came as a huge sigh of relief for the French fans. The Les Blues skipper was seen wearing a France-coloured mask during the training and looked to have brushed off the injury, but his participation remains doubtful.
After making a winning start to their campaign, France sit second in Group D. Though France needs to tighten things up against a strong Dutch side on Matchday 2. France edged past the Oranje 4-0 and 2-1 in the qualifiers.
The Dutch, on the other hand, will be looking to win their first two games of a UEFA Euro tournament for the fourth time in their history.
Sitting at the top of Group D, Ronald Koeman’s side fought back from a goal down to sink Poland 2-1 in their opening match and will look to achieve a similar result against France. A win will guarantee the Netherlands side a top-two finish. A win tonight will also be their fourth straight victory following 4-0 thrashings of Canada and Iceland in pre-tournament friendlies.
In fact, Koeman’s men have suffered a single 2-1 friendly defeat against Germany in their last eight battles. They are genuine competitors for Euro 2024 glory.
Team News
Koeman’s side has a positive update as Brian Bobby has resumed training. He was unavailable for the opening match fixture against Poland due to a hamstring injury. After regaining fitness, he will be in contention to feature in today’s clash against France. Frenkie de Jong, Marten de Roon, and Teun Koopmeiners, though, will miss the match due to injuries. The duo Jerdy Schouten and Joey Veerman will take responsibility of the midfield in their absence.
Kylian Mbappe (10) of France bleed from the nose during the 2024 European Football Championship (EURO 2024) Group D football match between France and Austria at Merkur Spiel-Arena in Dusseldorf, Germany on June 17, 2024. (Photo by Emin Sansar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The France dugout has a major injury concern. Though Mbappe has started training with the teams, it is highly unlikely, he will feature in the group-stage matches.
Head-to-Head
France hold a strong historical record against the Netherlands as they have won 16 out of the 30 matches played between the two teams. On the contrary, the Netherlands have only 11 victories.
Both have locked horns thrice in the UEFA Euro competitions in which Netherlands have triumphed in their last two at the Euros finals, including a 4-1 demolition in the 2008 group phases. While France could win only the knockout game between the two.
The Dutch have won seven of their last eight matches against the Netherlands in all competitions, missing out on only a single encounter in the UEFA Nations League in November 2018 by a 2-0 scoreline. Only four of the 30 matches played between them have ended in draws in all competitions.
Predicted lineup
Netherlands: Verbruggen; Dumfries, De Vrij, Van Dijk, Aké; Reijnders, Schouten, Veerman; Simons, Depay, Gakpo
France: Maignan; Koundé, Saliba, Upamecano, Hernández; Griezmann, Kanté, Rabiot; Dembélé, Giroud, Thuram
When, where and how to watch the Netherlands vs France match in India?
The Spain vs Italy UEFA Euro 2024 match will be telecast live on Sony Sports Network in India. Live streaming of Euro 2024 will be available on SonyLIV app and website. The action begins at 12:30 am IST tonight.
For Live Blog: Follow all the live action with News9Live’s match blog!
France are looking to win their first two games of a UEFA Euro tournament for the fourth time in their history. Will they be joined by their star striker Mbappe or not remains a question? Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
