Huge Game in Group C
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There are some great games to look forward to this week as international football returns. We will see the opening fixtures of the 2020 European Championship Qualifying campaign and there is none bigger than the clash between Netherlands and Germany.
The teams are competing in Group C and the game will be played at the Johan Cruyff Arena, Amsterdam on Sunday 24th March. Both teams will see this as the perfect opportunity to lay down a marker for the rest of the campaign.
By the time this match begins, Netherlands will already have played one match in the group as they take on Belarus at home in their first group game. The Dutch should claim maximum points in that one and will have the opportunity to move 6 points clear of Germany in the group.
The Netherlands have failed to qualify for the last two major international tournaments and you must go back to the 2014 World Cup to find the last time they participated. However, since losing 4-0 to France in 2018 World Cup Qualifying, Netherlands have shown signs of improvement and trends show they have lost only two of their last fifteen matches ahead of Euro 2020 qualification.
The majority of these games have been friendlies but Netherlands did win their UEFA Nations League group, coming ahead of France and Germany, which was a huge boost to their confidence. They defeated Germany 3-0 at home during the Nations League and a repeat of that result here would be massive for Dutch football.
Germany played a friendly at home against Serbia on Wednesday night and were forced to come back from 1-0 down to claim a 1-1 draw. It was not ideal preparation for this game but does give them something to build on.
The German team were shocked at the 2018 World Cup as they finished bottom of a group containing Mexico, Sweden and South Korea. Joachim Low has taken the drastic measure of telling some senior international players they will not be considered for the national team again and it remains to be seen how that works out for them.
Following elimination from the World Cup, Germany have played seven matches and won only two. Both wins came in friendlies at home against Peru and Russia. Germany picked up only 2 points in their Nations League group, finishing bottom and suffering relegation to League B.
Looking ahead to the team news and Netherlands will hope to come through the game with Belarus unscathed. Virgil van Dijk, Matthijs De Ligt and Frenkie De Jong are three players who should start the match.
Germany hope to have Leroy Sane fit following a poor challenge in the friendly against Serbia. Low has got plenty of decisions to make ahead of this one in terms of his starting XI.
The Dutch are in great form while Germany have struggled ever since the beginning of the 2018 World Cup. Having already defeated Germany 3-0 at home recently in a competitive game, Netherlands will fancy their chances of staging a repeat result.
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