Netherlandsvs.Spain

The winners of this two-legged contest will face either Croatia or France in the semi-finals in June.

Match preview

After being knocked out by England in the semi-finals of Euro 2024 last summer, Netherlands accumulated nine points from six matches (W2 D3 L1) to finish second in League A Group 3 of the Nations League in the second half of last year.

Ronald Koeman's side suffered their only defeat away against group winners Germany (1-0) in mid-October, before concluding the group with a comfortable 4-0 home win over Hungary and a 1-1 draw with Bosnia-Herzegovina in November.

Since the Nations League was formed in 2018, the Netherlands have come close to winning the tournament on two occasions, firstly finishing as runners-up to champions Portugal in 2019 before losing the third-placed playoff to Italy in 2023.

Koeman is tasked with tightening up a Dutch defence that kept just one clean sheet and conceded seven goals during the group stage - the most goals they have shipped at this stage of the Nation League.

However, the Netherlands have only conceded three goals across five meetings with Spain (W3 D1 L1), and will welcome Thursday's return to home soil where they are unbeaten in seven matches across all competitions by an impressive aggregate score of 24-4, scoring at least four goals on five of those occasions.

Although France are placed one spot higher than Spain in the current FIFA world rankings, it is fair to say that La Roja are the best team in Europe at present, considering they are the holders of both the Nations League and the European Championship, winning the latter for an unprecedented fourth time last summer.

Luis de la Fuente boasts a record of 23 wins, three draws and just two defeats since his appointment as Spain head coach in December 2022, winning 14 and drawing one of his last 15 internationals (including friendlies) across all competitions since a narrow 1-0 friendly defeat at home to Colombia in March 2024.

After beating England in the Euro 2024 final, Spain collected 16 Nations League points from a possible 18 available across six League A Group 4 matches in the second half of last year to finish top of the pile and eight points clear of their nearest challengers Denmark in second.

La Roja are now looking to extend their winning run in the Nations League to six games, but they face a Netherlands outfit on Thursday whom they have not beaten in 90 minutes since February 1983 when they won a Euros qualifier 1-0 in Seville.

Netherlands Nations League form:

W

D

D

L

W

D

Spain Nations League form:

D

W

W

W

W

W

Team News

Netherlands duo Denzel Dumfries and Jerdy Schouten have both withdrawn from Koeman's squad due to injury. Nathan Ake, Stefan de Vrij and Devyne Rensch are also sidelined, while the likes of Micky van de Ven - who has had his fair share of fitness issues - Joshua Zirkzee, Wout Weghorst, Marten de Roon and Quinten Timber have not been called up.

Uncapped Ajax defender Youri Baas and midfielder Mats Wieffer have replaced Dumfries and Schouten, while Frenkie de Jong has also been named in Koeman's squad, but is a minor doubt after he missed Barcelona's 4-2 La Liga win over Atletico Madrid last weekend through illness.

While there may be uncertainty over Virgil van Dijk's future at Liverpool, the 33-year-old is expected to start as captain for the Oranje in central defence, while the likes of Jurrien Timber, Ryan Gravenberch, Tijjani Reijnders, Cody Gakpo and Justin Kluivert will all be hoping to force their way into the first XI.

As for Spain, Inigo Martinez, Marc Casado and Bryan Zaragoza have all pulled out of De la Fuente's squad due to injury, with uncapped Bournemouth defender Dean Huijsen and Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Aleix Garcia called up as a result.

Real Madrid centre-back Raul Asencio has received his first call-up and, along with Huijsen, is in contention to make his debut, although Pau Cubarsi and Robin Le Normand are both expected to start at centre-back.

At the age of just 17, Barcelona sensation Lamine Yamal is poised to earn his 18th senior cap for Spain on the right wing and could be joined in a three-man attack by captain Alvaro Morata and Nico Williams.

Netherlands possible starting lineup:

Verbruggen; Frimpong, De Ligt, Van Dijk, J. Timber; Gravenberch, De Jong, Reijnders; Simons, Brobbey, Gakpo

Spain possible starting lineup:

Simon; Porro, Cubarsi, Le Normand, Cucurella; Ruiz, Zubimendi, Pedri; Yamal, Morata, N. Williams

We say: Netherlands 1-2 Spain

First legs can often be cagey affairs and a closely-contested battle between these two European giants could well be on the cards on Thursday. Although the Netherlands have recently excelled on home soil, we are backing Spain to claim a first-leg advantage, albeit a narrow one.

Written by

Oliver Thomas

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