Netherlands face Scotland on Wednesday in their first pre-Euro 2020 warm up game. Kick-off in the Algarve is at 7.45pm BST.

It is less than two weeks until the European Championships begin and Netherlands preparations for the tournament are in full swing.

On Wednesday, Frank de Boer’s side faces Scotland in Portugal before they travel home for a friendly against Georgia. They are the only warm-up games before Oranje begins their tournament against Ukraine on the 13th of June. Netherlands then take on Austria and North Macedonia.

Scotland are also preparing for the European Championships which is their first major tournament since 1998. They will face England, Croatia and Czech Republic.

Speaking at his press conference, De Boer spoke of his admiration for Scotland, “Perhaps the Netherlands did not have the best generation in the years before, but now there is a nice mix between talent and experience.ย That also applies to Scotland.ย They play very adult football, in a modern and European style.ย They have a good team, with a good organization.”

Team News

Frank de Boer confirmed he will line-up in a 5-3-2 formation for the clash with Scotland. Marten de Roon is also confirmed to start in the midfield.

It remains to be seen whether De Boer names a strong eleven or gives some players a chance to impress before the tournament starts. Daley Blind will not start the game but could make minutes in the second half.

Jurrien Timber and Cody Gakpo could make their Netherlands debuts.

Possible Netherlands XI: Krul, Dumfries, Wijndal, De Ligt, De Vrij, Veltman, De Roon, De Jong, Wijnaldum, Memphis, L. De Jong

John Fleck has been ruled out for Scotland after a positive coronavirus test. Scotland could line up with Liverpool star Andrew Robertson on the left, while Kieran Tierney (Arsenal), Scott McTominay (Manchester United), and John McGinn (Aston Villa) are the other standouts for the Scots.

Possible Scotland XI: Marshall; Hanley, Cooper, Tierney, O’Donnell, McTominay, McGinn, McGregor, Robertson; Adams, Dykes

Odds

Netherlands 9/20 Draw 10/3 Scotland 6/1

Previous Meetings

The two countries have met 19 times before with Netherlands coming out on top nine times, while Scotland have six wins.

Netherlands have won the last four meetings with the last a slender 1-0 victory in Aberdeen back in 2017. Memphis Depay netted the only goal of the game.

A chance for De Boer to experiment?

De Boer wants to play a 5-3-2 and the game against Scotland is the first chance to see how that would work against an opponent similar to the nations Oranje will face at the Euros.

The risk of injuries will be in De Boer’s mind and giving some key players a rest would be smart ahead of the tournament. However, De Boer needs to see how his formation will work.

The first half could be used to play the strongest available eleven before De Boer turns to the likes of Gravenberch, Timber, Gakpo and Teun Koopmeiners, who deserve a chance to impress.




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