European footballing heavyweights France and Netherlands will lock horns in the opening match of their UEFA EURO 2024 Qualifiers campaign at the Stade de France stadium in France on Saturday.
The Group B encounter between these two footballing powerhouses in UEFA EURO 2022 will begin at 1:15 AM Indian Standard Time (IST). France and Netherlands have been clubbed in Group B along with Gibraltar, Greece, and Ireland for the UEFA EURO 2024 Qualifiers.
The Netherlands will be coached by Ronald Koeman, who will be beginning his second stint as head coach of the Dutch national team. Koeman, in fact, will have fond memories of competing against France as a manager having registered a 2-0 win over France in the team two teams’ last meeting in the UEFA Nations League en route to the title in 2019.
Both teams’ last outing came in the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar and ended in penalty shootout defeats to eventual champions Argentina.
Netherlands and France head into Saturday’s contest with three wins in their last five matches and both sides will be eager to kickstart their UEFA EURO 2024 Qualifiers campaign on a positive note.
This Group B clash between these footballing giants promises to be an exhilarating encounter, especially when considering that France is unbeaten in their last five matches at Stade de France while the Netherlands haven’t been beaten in their previous nine away games. It’s also worth noting that France is unbeaten against the Netherlands in their last three home games.
As far as the head-to-head between the teams is considered, France has swords with the Netherlands 28 times in the past. They’ve won 14 of these encounters and drawn three times, while the Netherlands has emerged triumphant on 11 occasions.
Both teams will be without some key players for their UEFA EURO 2024 qualifiers opener. France will have to compete without defender William Saliba and midfielder Youssouf Fofana due to injuries, whereas the Netherlands’ talismanic midfielder Frenkie de Jong and attacker Steven Bergwijn are also nursing injuries.
That said, both sides will still fancy their chances of getting a positive result come Saturday. With players like Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe in the team, France is capable of blowing away any team on their day, while talents such as Cody Gakpo and Memphis Depay ensure that the Dutch won’t be a pushover either.
With loads of talent in both teams, France and the Netherlands will hope to make a winning start to their UEFA EURO 2024 qualifiers campaign, which means that the neutral fan should brace themselves for a high-quality match.
Where to watch France vs Netherlands UEFA EURO 2024 qualifiers match live in India?
Live streaming of France vs Netherlands UEFA EURO 2024 qualifiers will be available on the SonyLiv app and website.
Live telecast of France vs Netherlands UEFA EURO 2024 qualifiers will be available on the Sony Sports 2 and Sony Sports 2 HD TV channels in India.
Photo Credit: Alamy
