The third match of the FIFA World Cup on Friday sees the Netherlands back in action when they go up against an Ecuador team who broke the hearts of the host nation in their opening match of the tournament.
Both teams won their first Group A game so the winner of this match will be through to the next stage of the competition and in good position to win the group. The losers will still have another chance to qualify on Tuesday.
Where to watch
The match will be shown live and in full on the ITV 1 channel with an extensive build-up beginning at 3pm and kick off coming along at 4pm.
Netherlands
The Netherlands probably weren’t as impressive as they would have wanted to be in their opening win against Senegal but if that was the toughest challenge they will face in the group, as the rankings suggest it was, then getting the win was the most important thing and they can use the next two matches to move through the gears and be ready to peak when this tournament gets towards the business end of proceedings.
The key for the Dutch were that they were tight at the back and didn’t really suffer too many scares. They definitely weren’t as attractive as they would have wanted to be in the attacking areas of the pitch but with their talisman only available from the bench you would imagine there will be natural improvement from them in that regard. For all the underwhelming feeling about the Dutch against Senegal, they did win and a number of big nations would have swapped their result for that.
Ecuador
There were one or two judges who were bigging Ecuador up as dark horses for the tournament heading into the competition. Brazil coach Tite was one of those so that put a little bit of pressure on them but you wouldn’t have realised it based on their performance. I think we have to accept that Qatar got stage fright which might mean that Ecuador were flattered by their display in that opening game but you can only beat what is in front of you and the South Americans certainly did that.
If there was a criticism of Ecuador in that opening game it was that they lacked a ruthless edge. They could have won by a lot more than what they did and could have made things a little easier should goal difference be needed to separate teams at the end of this group. Against better teams like the Dutch the chances might not come as regularly so when they do come along they need to be converted. Ecuador kept the ball well though and generally always looked forward which was encouraging.
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Team News
Louis van Gaal has seemed to suggest that Memphis Depay is only ready for 45 minutes in this match. Whether they come at the start of the match or from the bench remains to be seen. Vincent Janssen is likely to miss out if Depay plays from the off.
Ecuador are sweating over the fitness of their captain and talisman Enner Valencia after he sustained an injury after bagging a brace in the opening game against the hosts Qatar. Brighton attacker Jeremy Sarmiento will hope for a starting spot.
Betting
You would like to think that this will be a good watch with both sides very assured in possession of the ball and lively off it as well but whether that translates into goals and who for is a different story. It is the sort of game that might explode with an early goal but could labour without one so I don’t really want to bet on the outcome of it or any of the major markets. I do think there is a way in though and it comes in the player bets.
That comes in the form of Denzel Dumfries having a shot on target at a big looking 9/4. We saw at the Euros last year how he loves to get forward and he scored two goals in that tournament and added two more in the Nations League earlier this year. He has a good matchup here because Pervis Estupinan is better going forward at left-back for Ecuador than defending and at 5’9 isn’t the tallest so a cross from the left to the back post could have Dumfries in business. We saw the Qatar right wing-back get a header in during the second half against Ecuador in the opening game and the threat that comes from the Inter Milan man is much stronger than he offers. He is also good enough to get in the box in open play and can be a threat at corners so the 9/4 that Dumfries has a shot on target will do me.
Tips
Back D.Dumfries – Over 0.5 shots on target for a 2/10 stake at 3.25 with Bet365
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