The UEFA Nations League was designed to see teams of a similar standard play each other on a regular basis and that’s made for some good groups and exciting matches.
Nations League A, Group 1 has been very interesting and as things stand, France sit top on 7 points after three games, with Netherlands in second on 3 points after two games and Germany third with 1 point having played three games.
On Saturday 16th November, Netherlands meet France at the De Kuip Stadium in Rotterdam. A win for Netherlands would keep them in with a shout of finishing top while a win or draw for France would see them win the group.
Netherlands have been struggling to qualify for major tournaments in recent years and failed to make the 2016 European Championship and the 2018 World Cup. Ronald Koeman will be hoping to get things back on track and has made a decent start in the Nations League.
Having lost 2-1 in France despite producing a good performance, Netherlands recorded one of their best victories for many years as they defeated Germany 3-0 at home. The loss at France is the only negative result in their last seven games and Netherlands have won three and drawn three of the remaining six.
There have been wins over Portugal and Peru plus the Nations League victory over Germany. Trends show Netherlands have won six of their last seven home games, scoring 2 or more goals in each of those six wins.
France are the reining world champions and have made a good start to the 2018/19 UEFA Nations League. The French have won two and drawn one of their three matches to date, including victories over Netherlands and Germany at home plus a 0-0 draw with Germany away.
The French are tough to beat and trends show they have remained undefeated in their last seventeen matches, including the 2018 World Cup. Since the World Cup final, France have won two and drawn two of their four matches, with the only game outside the Nations League a friendly match with Iceland which ended 2-2 in Guingamp.
Trends show France have lost just one of their last nine away matches and the defeat was against Sweden in qualifying for the 2018 World Cup. France have scored 2 or more goals in three of their last four away games.
Team news and Netherlands will be close to full strength for this match with Virgil van Dijk, Matthijs de Ligt, Georginio Wijnaldum and Memphis Depay among those set to start for the hosts.
France have been hit by some withdrawals and Paul Pogba, Anthony Martial, Benjamin Mendy and Alexandre Lacazette will miss the game. This could hand a chance to Ferland Mendy and Alassane Plea, who are yet to appear for their country.
Netherlands will be feeling good about themselves again following the win over Germany but this will be a more difficult test. France have great quality throughout their team, even with the withdrawals and should come away with maximum points in what could be an exciting match to watch.