The Netherlands go head-to-head with Croatia on Wednesday with a place in the final of the 2022/23 Nations League up for grabs (see Nations League fixtures and kick-off times here).
The host nation went unbeaten in a group including Belgium, Poland and Wales and will fancy their chances of winning the tournament.
After finishing ahead of Denmark, France and Austria in their group, Croatia’s ‘golden generation’ have the chance to cement their legacy by lifting the trophy.
Neither side has lifted the trophy before – a point that applies to Spain and Italy in the other semi-final – so we will see a new Nations League champion this week.
Match Preview
The Netherlands were impressive during the group stage, taking 16 points from a possible 18 to sweep into the Nations League Finals.
However, their dismal 4-0 defeat against France in a recent 2024 European Championship qualifier highlighted their deficiencies.
Their hopes of success received a setback when defender Matthijs de Ligt was forced to withdraw from the squad due to injury.
With forward Memphis Depay among several other notable absentees, Ronald Koeman’s side could have their work cut out against Croatia.
Thirteen points from their six group games were enough for Croatia to progress to this stage of the competition for the first time.
Croatia kicked off their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign by taking four points from a possible six and will be keen to defy expectations this week.
They will miss highly-rated RB Leipzig centre-back Josko Gvardiol through injury, while Marko Livaja has also pulled out of the squad following an incident in training.
Croatia demonstrated their liking for the big occasion by reaching the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup and will be confident of upsetting the Netherlands.
Recent Form
- Netherlands: WLLWWD
- Croatia: WDWLWW
Netherlands vs Croatia Potential Line-ups
Netherlands: Bijlow, Dumfries, Timber, Van Dijk, De Ligt, Ake, De Roon, De Jong, Simons, Bergwijn, Gakpo, Malen.
Croatia: Livakovic, Juranovic, Sutalo, Erlic, Sosa, Modric, Brozovic, Kovacic; Pasalic, Kramaric, Perisic.
We Say: Netherlands 1-1 Croatia (aet, Croatia win on penalties)
Home advantage could work in the Netherlands’ favour, but we fancy Croatia to make life difficult for the hosts before booking their place in the final.
Watch Nations League Games Live
All Nations League games can be streamed live online, even if they are not on live TV in the United Kingdom – see our football live streaming page for more information.
