The State of Play
Under the management of former Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman, the Dutch national team are preparing for UEFA EURO 2024 and aiming to go further than the last eight at a tournament for the first time in a decade. Oranje only just squeezed through qualification with a controversial win over Greece in October before then edging past Ireland by a goal to nil in Amsterdam.
Scotland were one of the better sides in European football during the qualification campaign, beginning the group with five wins out of five; including victories over Spain and Norway. Steve Clarke led the Scots to their first tournament in over 20 years at UEFA EURO 2020 but the plan will be to get out of a group for the first time ever this time around, albeit they face some stiff opposition in a few months with the likes of Germany, Hungary and Switzerland.
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Team News
For the first time in nearly 30 years, the Netherlands have selected a squad without a single Ajax player in it. They have a few key injury absentees for this round of fixtures as the likes of Jurrien Timber, Micky van de Ven, Frenkie de Jong and Steven Bergwijn are unavailable.
Scotland are also dealing with a couple of first-team injury issues as they build up towards the UEFA European Championships. Grant Hanley has had to withdraw from the squad, whilst both Aaron Hickey and Jacob Brown are both out.
Expected Line-ups
Netherlands: Flekken; De Ligt, Van Dijk, Ake; Dumfries, Wijnaldum, De Roon, Blind; Koopmeiners, Xavi Simons; Depay
Scotland: Gordon; Hendry, McKenna, Tierney; Gilmour; Patterson, Ferguson, McTominay, Robertson; McGinn; Adams
What they Said
Ahead of the November international break, Ronald Koeman confirmed that Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen would be his first choice goalkeeper but it is expected that Brentford stopper Mark Flekken is given an opportunity to stake his claim.
Former Rangers midfielder has discussed the major talking point in the Scotland squad with Steve Clarke having to make a decision between Craig Gordon and Zander Clarke for the number one spot with McCulloch describing it as a ‘big decision.’
When and How to Watch
This match will be played at the Johann Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam, the Netherlands at 19:45 on Friday March 22nd and will be televised live on Viaplay Sports 1 in the UK. It will also be able to be streamed live via the Viaplay Sports app.
Prediction
In the last 12-18 months or so, Scotland have entered the conversation of being a serious team in European football after being promoted into League A of the UEFA Nations League and also comfortably qualifying for UEFA EURO 2024. The Netherlands have an excellent squad, particularly defensively, but there are some holes in it. The Scots will be genuinely confident of bloodying the nose of the Dutch, even away from home, with both teams scoring seeming relatively likely.
