Netherlands vs Belgium preview

November 8, 2016
By: Nemanja Lazarevic

belgium-vs-netherlandsNetherlands will be eager to end a six-match winless run in meetings with Belgium when they welcome their neighbours to Amsterdam ArenA.

Meanwhile, the Red Devils aim to extend a three-match winning run that saw them bag 13 goals at the start of the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign.

Netherlands have been on a major downtrend over the last few years and it is now up to the national team legend Danny Blind to try and get the team where they belong.

The current boss failed to take Oranje to the Euro 2016 finals after taking over the reigns from Guus Hiddink, but he has been given another opportunity to impress.

Netherlands indeed looked very good in international friendlies in the aftermath of Euro 2016, beating England, Poland and Austria away, but they did not have such a good start to the new qualifying campaign.

Oranje held Sweden to a 1-1 draw and defeated Belarus before losing at home to France, meaning they will have to work hard if they want to secure their place at the 2018 World Cup.

Head coach Danny Blind again faces a genuine selection headache as Terence Kongolo, Rick Karsdorp, Davy Propper and Quincy Promes have all withdrawn through injury.

Steven Berghuis, Bruno Martins Indi and Joshua Brenet were drafted into the squad, whereas Bart Ramselaar and Marvin Zeegelaar are the two uncapped players in the squad.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): Stekelenburg – Veltman, Bruma, van Dijk, Blind – Klaassen, Wijnaldum, Sneijder – Robben, Janssen, Lens.

The current Belgium team is rightly regarded as one of Europe’s best, but the problem is they are still unable to to prove their worth at a major international competition.

The Red Devils were beaten by Wales in the Euro 2016 quarter-finals, and Roberto Martinez has since been appointed as the new head coach.

Three big wins in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers suggest that the Spaniard is on the right track, but let’s wait and see how his side will fare when meeting some of the big guns.

Having won their last two games vs Netherlands, Belgium are now available at 2.40 (7/5) to pile more misery on their arch rivals.

Kevin De Bruyne and Vincent Kompany have returned to the squad, but the latter is unlikely to be risked ahead of the Luxembourg qualifier.

Moussa Dembele and Marouane Fellaini face fitness tests, whereas Roberto Martinez surprisingly omitted Radja Nainggolan from the squad.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Courtois – Meunier, Alderweireld, Kabasele, Vertonghen – Witsel, Tielemans – Mertens, De Bruyne, Hazard – Lukaku.

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