Republic of Ireland vs Netherlands Preview

Ronald Koeman and his Netherlands side will travel to the Aviva Stadium this Sunday to face the Republic of Ireland in their sixth qualifying game for the 2024 European Championship.

The hosts come into this game in poor shape, having won just one of their opening four qualifier games in this campaign.

Their last outing was a 2-0 loss to France in Paris, leaving them sitting in fourth place in their group ahead of European minnows Gibraltar.

After that game, manager Stephen Kenny admitted his side are already nearing must-win territory in their attempts to qualify for a place in Germany next year, which would be their first major tournament since 2016.

The boss believes the Boys in Green “need a victory” from this home clash with the Netherlands. With their only win so far coming on home soil, they will fancy their chances of getting a result. The hosts have been strong of late at home, beating three of their last four opponents (L1) and netting a trio of goals in each win.

But despite that good form in Dublin, Ireland fans will have little optimism, given their record in this fixture. The Netherlands have been the better of both sides in this fixture, with the visitors winning five of the nine competitive H2Hs since 1980 (D3, L1).

Koeman’s men arrive in good form, having hammered Greece – a side who sit one place below the hosts in the FIFA rankings – 3-0 in midweek.

That was a second win in three qualifying outings for the Dutch (L1), who make the trip to Dublin looking to defend a formidable away record of only one defeat on the road (excluding tournament finals appearances) over the last two years (W5, D2).