Netherlands vs Germany: preview, team news, how to watch and prediction

Netherlands will host Germany in a crucial Nations League encounter at Johan Cruijff ArenA on Monday evening.

Ronald Koeman’s side displayed promising performances in the European Championship and went all the way to the semi-final before losing to England.

They were excellent against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the previous game and won the match 5-2. Joshua Zirkzee, Tijjani Reijnders, Cody Gakpo, Wout Weghorst and Xavi Simons were all on the scoresheet and they will be hoping to continue the momentum in this fixture as well.

On the other hand, Germany were also impressive in the Euro 24 with them being the host nation. Julian Nagelsmann’s side reached the quarter-final of this competition before losing to the eventual champions Spain.

Germany will be coming into this fixture following a thumping 5-0 victory over Hungary so they are full of confidence at the moment. Jamal Musiala, Niclas Fullkrug, Kai Havertz, Florian Wirtz and Aleksandar Pavlovic were on the scoresheet.

Both Germany and Holland will be hoping to secure a morale-boosting victory in this Nations League clash but fans are already looking ahead to the WC and those searching for 2026 World Cup tickets will be keeping a close eye on the outcome of this match.

Previous meetings

Germany won when they previously faced off against the Netherlands. But, the record has been pretty even between these two sides as both countries won two of the last six encounters. So, it is now going to be interesting to see how this match eventually unfolds tomorrow.

How to watch

The match will kick off at 7:45 PM UK time and the game will be televised live on Viaplay International YouTube.

Team news

Frenkie de Jong hasn’t recovered from his injury yet and after not featuring in the European Championship, he hasn’t played a game for Barcelona this season yet. So, he hasn’t been selected to play for his country in this international break. Additionally, Teun Koopmeiners hasn’t been selected as well.

For Germany, Toni Kroos has retired from all formats of football so Nagelsmann will have to find a solution to replace the Real Madrid legend. Moreover, Manuel Neuer has now retired from international football so Marc-Andre ter Stegen has finally become the first-choice goalkeeper for his nation.

Thomas Muller and Ilkay Gundogan have retired from international football as well, while Antonio Rudiger hasn’t been selected for Germany squad for this international break to give him a rest.

Predicted line-ups

Koeman is expected to go with the 4-2-3-1 formation with Bart Verbruggen set to be between the sticks. Virgil van Dijk would be one of the centre-back and Matthijs de Ligt is likely to be paired up with the Liverpool man at the back.

The Netherlands boss opted to go with Stefan de Vrij during the European Championship by keeping De Ligt on the bench but the Manchester United man has now seemingly regained his spot in the starting eleven for his nation.

Denzel Dumfries is likely to continue in the right-back position, while Nathan Ake should be on the opposite side as they were in the previous game against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Amid De Jong and Teun Koopmeiners’ absence, Reijnders is expected to remain in the midfield position, while Jerdy Schouten could commence alongside the AC Milan star.

Ryan Gravenberch has enjoyed a stellar start to this season with Liverpool and following that, he was rewarded with the selection in the starting eleven last weekend versus Bosnia and Herzegovina and he should continue in the engine room in this fixture.

Gakpo would be on the left flank with Simons likely to continue on the opposite side. Memphis Depay was Koeman’s first-choice striker during the Euro 24 but after leaving Atletico Madrid at the end of June, he hasn’t been playing football in recent times.

So, he has lost his place in Koeman’s squad and Zirkzee has now seemingly established himself as the first-choice striker for Netherlands. Therefore, he is set to start tomorrow.

Expected Netherlands line-up vs Germany:

Verbruggen; Dumfries, De Ligt, Van Dijk, Ake; Schouten, Reijnders, Gravenberch; Gakpo, Zirkzee, Simons

On the other hand, Nagelsmann is also expected to field his side in the 4-2-3-1 formation with Ter Stegen likely to continue between the sticks for Germany.

Jonathan Tah is set to start alongside Nico Schlotterbeck at the heart of defence, while Joshua Kimmich should be in the right-back position and David Raum could be on the opposite side.

Robert Andrich is likely to be paired up with Pascal Gross in the engine room with Havertz likely to commence in the attacking midfield position.

Fullkrug may lead the line for Germany and either side of the West Ham United man, Musiala and Wirtz could start.

Expected Germany line-up vs Netherlands:

Ter Stegen; Kimmich, Tah, Schlotterbeck, Raum; Andrich, Gross, Havertz; Musiala, Fullkrug, Wirtz

Key player to watch

Van Dijk has been the talismanic figure for Netherlands and the onus will be on him to keep the German attacking line-up at bay. Moreover, all eyes will be on De Ligt to see how he performs in this big game.

The responsibility will be on Zirkzee to finish off his chances and help his country come away with all three points from this encounter in front of the home support.

The Manchester United man made his full international debut last weekend and managed to put his name on the scoresheet. Moreover, he also provided an assist for Reijnders to score his goal.

Gakpo enjoyed an excellent Euro 24 and following that, he was promising versus Bosnia and Herzegovina and he will be hoping to continue his goal-scoring form in this game as well.

For Germany, Nagelsmann will be hoping that the young duo Musiala and Wirtz will be able to express themselves and perform at their best in this fixture. If they play at their best then it would be extremely difficult for Van Dijk and co to contain Germany. Musiala was impressive last time out as along with scoring a goal, he also made three assists.

Havertz has enjoyed a productive start to this season with Arsenal and was also on the scoresheet for Germany in the last game. So, the Dutch defence will have to find a way to stop him.

Prediction

Germany displayed impressive performances during the European Championship and was excellent last time out as well. So, if they can replicate the same performance in this encounter then they would come away with all three points from this encounter.

However, the Netherlands will be at home and they will be eager to beat their Tuesday’s opponent by taking advantage of the home support.

But, Germany have an excellent group of talents and have the experience of winning big games like this. So, the visitors could end up winning this fixture.

Both teams will be coming into this fixture after scoring five goals in the previous fixture so this could be a high-scoring affair. Netherlands 2-3 Germany