We have another day of three matches at the Euro 2024 tournament on Sunday and we begin with the opening match in Group D as Poland go up against the Netherlands in what many are calling the group of death.
That is because France and Austria are the other two teams in this section so both sides will know that if they want to come out of the group into the knockout stage they probably need to win this Hamburg encounter.
Where to watch
The match will be shown live and in full on BBC1 with the build-up to the contest beginning at 1.35pm ahead of the game kicking off at 2pm.
Poland
Poland went the long way around to make it to this tournament and they face a tough task if they are going to extend their stay into the knockout stages of the event. In many ways they could be considered fortunate to be here. They drew the plum draw of Estonia in the play-off semi-final and while they had to go to Wales for the final, a match in which they were completely outplayed and offered absolutely nothing in the 120 minutes of the game, they were not put away and triumphed in a penalty shootout.
It goes without saying that if they want to come out of this group they are going to need to find a huge improvement on that showing but you do wonder if they have the personnel for it. Their better players are getting no younger and they are running into one or two attacking injuries too many for comfort. They might be able to get by with a tight rearguard action and hope to catch something in a set play but long-term it isn’t a strategy that is going to have much joy.
Netherlands
The Netherlands ran home behind France in qualifying and knowing that they will have to go up against the former world champions again in this group you would imagine that Ronald Koeman and his men will be doubly determined to get off to a winning start and just ease the pressure on the matches to come. The Dutch have a rich record in this competition and while this might not be the best generation they have ever brought to the tournament, no Holland side leaves home without eyeing up coming home with the title.
One area where the Netherlands are strong is at the heart of the defence. They are spoilt for choice in that part of the pitch with some of the best central defenders in the game at their disposal but in front of them there are question marks. We are used to the Dutch controlling the ball and being technically strong but their best technician in midfield isn’t here with them and the lack of an out and out top class striker might also be their undoing.
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Team News
Poland have confirmed that they will be without Robert Lewandowski for this match after he sustained an injury against Turkey last week. Karol Swiderski also went off in that game and his status is unknown which isn’t ideal when Arkadiusz Milik was ruled out of the tournament before it began.
The Netherlands are without a couple of key midfielders with Frenkie de Jong and Teun Koopmeiners were late withdrawals from the event while Marten de Roon is another who won’t be here. The uncapped pair of Ian Maatsen and Joshua Zirkzee came into the squad late.
Betting
I wasn’t massively keen on the Netherlands for this match but then I watched the Poland warm up game against Turkey and saw two more attacking injuries come their way and all of a sudden it is hard to go against the Dutch for this one. I’m still not massively keen to back them at 4/7 though so I’m looking for a way to get a little more juice in their price and when you consider the defensive personnel that Ronald Koeman has at his disposal it might well come in the 6/4 that the Netherlands win to nil.
This isn’t a flashy version of the Dutch side. They were very much built from the back, which is no surprise when their central defensive options are so strong that Micky van der Ven can only get into this side at left-back, and as a result they don’t concede many goals. The Netherlands have actually kept clean sheets in six of their last seven matches and have won the lot. The one game they didn’t win in that run was against Germany and the way the Germans played on Friday night I think we can safely suggest that a Poland side missing Robert Lewandowski and Arkadiusz Milik isn’t going to offer the threat that the German one did. I like the Netherlands to nil here.
Tips
Back Netherlands to win to nil for a 3/10 stake at 2.50 with Betfair
