Netherlands kick off a series of three friendly matches with a trip to Dublin for a meeting with the Republic of Ireland.
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Failure to qualify for Euro 2016 this summer means Netherlands will only act as a warm up for sides that have reached the tournament in France, with Republic of Ireland, Poland and Austria all using the Oranje to prepare themselves for when the competition gets underway on the 10th of June.
However, with the World Cup qualifiers starting later this year, Danny Blind will use the matches to test out some players and formations ahead of the next competitive match against Sweden in September.
First up for the Oranje will be the Republic of Ireland, who qualified for the Euros after beating Bosnia and Herzegovina in a play-off. Martin O’Neill’s side will face Sweden, Belgium, and Italy in France, and the coach will use the tie against the Netherlands to test out players, with his squad for the tournament still not finalised.
Team News
Netherlands are without several key players for the tie with Republic of Ireland, including Arjen Robben, Klaas jan Huntelaar, Stefan de Vrij, and Davy Klaassen, while Davy Propper, Bart Ramselaar and Jurgen Locadia were forced to pull out of the squad through injury. However, Blind has Kevin Strootman back in his selection for the first time in two years, while Feyenoord midfielder Tonny Vilhena could be handed his debut during the tie.
Daley Blind is expected to miss the tie due to injury, meaning Strootman will take over the captains armband. Weesley Sneijder wont be involved due to his involvement in the Turkish cup final.
Expected Netherlands line-up: Cillesse, Veltman, Willems, Bruma, Van Dijk, Bazoer, Strootman, Wijnaldum, Promes, Memphis, Janssen
For the Republic of Ireland, Everton Midfielder James McCarthy and Aston Villa centre-back Ciaran Clark are said to be doubtful for the tie.
Possible Republic of Ireland line-up: Given, Coleman, Ward, O’Shea, Duffy, Whelan, Arter, McClean, Gibson, Walters, Long
Previous Meetings
Netherlands and Ireland have met 19 times before, with the Oranje coming out on top in nine of those ties. The last meeting came back in 2006 with N
The last meeting came back in 2006 with Netherlands coming out on top 4-0 in a friendly, but the most famous tie between the two nations was during the 2002 World Cup qualifiers which saw the Republic of Ireland beat Louis van Gaal’s side 1-0 at home and draw 2-2 in the Netherlands to reach the tournament in Japan and South Korea.
Other information
- Kick off time: 7.45pm UK Time
- Odds: Republic of Ireland 12/5, Draw 9/4, Netherlands 5/4
- You can watch the game live on Setanta Sports 1 and Setanta Ireland, while it will also be streamed on BET 365’s website.
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