Netherlands vs France Preview

The Netherlands will resume their quest for a place in the 2024 European Championship when they welcome France to the Johan Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam this Friday.

Since their crushing loss in the Nations League semifinal in June, accompanied by a loss to Italy in the third-place playoffs, the Oranje have been in good form in their qualifiers.

Ronald Koeman’s side have beaten Greece and the Republic of Ireland since those defeats to remain in pole position to qualify from Group B alongside France. Having played a game less than their Friday visitors, the Netherlands can cut the gap between them and France to three points if they win here.

Doing so will also help them avenge their 4-0 mauling in France in their Euro qualifying opener. But winning here will be easier said than done, as the hosts have failed to win their last three home qualifier games against nations currently ranked in FIFA’s top 50 (D1, L2). Yet they boast a very strong H2H record against Les Bleus on home soil (W8, D2, L3).

Meanwhile, France will travel to Amsterdam looking to continue their perfect record in the qualifiers. Didier Deschamps’ men have emerged victorious in their opening five Euro 2024 qualifier outings, scoring eleven times and keeping five clean sheets, indicating their strong chance of securing a ninth consecutive appearance at a European Championship.

Victory here would secure safe passage to the finals in Germany for the visitors, but if results elsewhere work in their favour, even avoiding defeat could be sufficient as France search for their first Euros crown since 2000.

They ought to be confident of winning here, given that they’ve won each of their last five qualifying matches on the road with a clean sheet. However, they tend to struggle against strong opposition, failing to win any of their last six away Euro qualifying games against nations currently ranked in FIFA’s top 50 (D4, L2).