Netherlands vs Poland: Preview and Prediction
Netherlands will take on Poland on matchday 3 of the 2022-23 UEFA Nations League Group A4 fixtures on Saturday, 11th June. This match will be played at the Stadion Feijenoord in Rotterdam.
The Netherlands has been pretty flawless so far and has not put a foot wrong. Louis van Gaal’s men have defeated Belgium and Poland in their first couple of matches and with six points to their name, they are sitting handsomely at the top of their standings in Group A4.
As for Poland, they have blown hot and cold so far. Czeslaw Michniewicz’s team started their campaign with an impressive victory against Wales. but they failed to capitalize on the momentum and were handed a 6-1 humbling by Belgium in their last match. They are occupying the third position in their group.
Current Form
The Netherlands has been practically unstoppable ever since they were eliminated from the 2020 UEFA European Championship’s round of 16 stages by the Czech Republic. Since then, the Oranje have played eleven matches and have not any of those matches.
They have won eight of those fixtures – beating Montenegro, Turkey, Latvia, Gibraltar, Norway, Denmark, Belgium and Wales in the process. Besides that, they also played three draws – against Norway, Montenegro and Germany.
Though Poland’s recent run of form is not extraordinary as their opposition’s, they too have played an impressive brand of football in their last few matches. If we consider their last eleven matches, the Eagles have suffered only two defeats – against Hungary and Belgium.
They have also been restricted to stalemates on a couple of occasions, by England and Scotland. Having said that Michniewicz’s men also won seven of these fixtures – beating Albania and San Marino twice, and Andorra, Sweden and Wales once each.
Head to Head Record
The Netherlands hold the upper hand when it comes to head-to-head records, as they have won eight of the 17 meetings against Poland. The Eagles have emerged victoriously only thrice, while six matches failed to produce a winner.
The last meeting of these two teams was in the previous edition of the UEFA Nations League, where the Oranje secured a 2-1 triumph. Memphis Depay and Georginio Wijnaldum scored for the Netherlands, whilst Poland’s lone goal was scored by Kamil Jozwiak.
Team News
Memphis Depay and Steven Bergwijn are likely to be included in the Netherlands’ starting XI
Central defender Virgil van Dijk had already left the squad for an early vacation, and van Gaal will now miss two more players in Matthijs de Ligt and Tim Krul because of injuries. However, many of the Netherlands’ superstars will be rejuvenated ahead of this game, after being rested in the last encounter.
Jasper Cillessen could replace Mark Flekken in goal, while in the three-man backline, de Ligt could be replaced by Nathan Ake. Daley Blind and Denzel Dumfries might return in their wingback roles, replacing Tyrell Malacia and Hans Hateboer respectively. Besides that, Davy Klaaseen, Steven Berghuis, Depay and Steven Bergwijn are likely to be included in the starting XI, at the expense of Jerdy Schouten, Noa Lang, Wout Weghorst and Cody Gakpo respectively.
On the other hand, Michniewicz will have all of his players available for this match, but he is likely to make changes aplenty after the humiliation against Belgium. To start off, Wojciech Szczesny is expected to replace Bartlomiej Dragowski under the sticks.
Bartosz Bereszynski might come in for Robert Gumny in the backline, while in the midfield, Matty Cash, Karol Linetty and Przemyslaw Frankowski are expected to replace Jakub Kamimski, Grzegorz Krychowiak and Sebastian Szymanski respectively.
Predicted Starting Lineups
Netherlands (3-4-2-1): Jasper Cillessen; Jordan Teze, Stefan de Vrij, Nathan Ake; Denzel Dumfries, Teun Koopmeiners, Davy Klaasen, Daley Bilnd; Steven Berghuis, Steven Bergwijn; Memphis Depay.
Poland (4-5-1): Wojciech Szczesny; Bartosz Bereszynski, Kamil Glik Jan Bedranek, Tymoteusz Puchacz; Matty Cash, Szymon Zurkowski, Karol Linetty, Piotr Zielenski, Przemyslaw Frankowski; Robert Lewandowski.
Prediction
Morale will certainly be very low in the Polish camp after the 6-1 drubbing, whilst on the contrary, the Dutch camp will be packed to the brim with confidence. With head-to-head statistics favouring them as well, we have predicted the Netherlands to win this match.
