Dutch Need a Miracle in Amsterdam
There is one round of matches remaining in UEFA World Cup Qualifying Group A and every team attempting to qualify knows exactly what they need to do.
For France, the equation is simple, they sit top of the group on 20 points and a win over Belarus in Paris on Tuesday night will be enough to send them through to the 2018 World Cup finals.
Sweden start the night in second place in the group, with 19 points from their nine games played but need the French to slip-up at home and win their game, away to the Netherlands. The Dutch start the match in third place, 3 points behind Sweden.
If Netherlands are to claim second place and reach the playoffs, they need to defeat Sweden. However, due to the size of Sweden’s goal difference, Netherlands need to win the match by 7 goals if they are to take second place away from the Swedes.
Netherlands have very little choice but to attack from the outset and have a go at scoring as many goals as they can, which should lead to a very exciting game.
Netherlands come into this match on the back of two straight wins in the group. Both the victory at home over Bulgaria and away in Belarus were expected but the way the team has been playing recently, nothing can be taken for granted.
The Dutch started the campaign with a 1-1 draw in Sweden and defeated Belarus at home 1-0. They then suffered their first defeat of the group, 1-0 at home to France before recovering with a 3-1 win in Luxembourg.
Then came their most disappointing result of the campaign, losing 2-0 in Bulgaria and following a home win over Luxembourg there was a heavy 4-0 loss in France.
Keeping a clean sheet has been problematic for the Netherlands and they have kept only one, which was against Luxembourg.
Sweden make the trip to Amsterdam in high spirits following their 8-0 thrashing of Luxembourg on the weekend. That victory means they have now scored 26 goals in the group, 10 more than group leaders France.
Sweden have lost two games in the group, one in France and the other in Bulgaria. However, unlike the Dutch, they have defeated France at home and won their other six games convincingly, including a 4-0 win in Belarus.
Team news and Netherlands have no suspension concerns, meaning they could go in with the same starting XI from the Belarus match. However, they may be tempted to start with an extra forward as they look for goals.
Sweden have no suspended players and will also be tempted to stick with the team which demolished Luxembourg last time out.
If this produces anything, it should be goals and do not be surprised to see over 2.5 goals scored considering the circumstances of the match. Sweden will be in confident mood and the way the Dutch have been struggling, the away team have the edge and could seal a playoff place with a win.
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