The final set of group matches in the FIFA World Cup get underway on Tuesday with the first group to conclude being Group A, which does so simultaneously in the afternoon where the Netherlands will take on Qatar in one of the matches.
The Netherlands head into their final match of the group knowing that they only need to avoid defeat to progress but a win would most likely send them through as group winners. Qatar depart their own party at the end of this contest.
Where to watch
The match will be shown live and in full on the ITV 1 channel in the UK. There is a full build-up which begins at 2pm and the match kicks off at the earlier than usual time of 3pm.
Netherlands
I don’t think we can say we have seen the best of the Netherlands in this tournament yet. They won’t care about that because they have navigated their way through the two challenges that they have been posed and are in position where they control their destiny here. This will be the time all the fancied runners will be expected to start to show their worth and what they might offer when this tournament begins to get really serious.
I guess with the odd injury or two that they carried into the tournament, Louis van Gaal was happy to accept that they would build their way into the competition but I would imagine the former Manchester United boss will be looking for a more complete display from his charges, particularly in the attacking areas of the pitch where they haven’t really done anything more than the bare minimum to scrape by. You would imagine chances will come regularly in this one.
Qatar
Unfortunately for Qatar they are going to be the worst host nation there has been at a World Cup in terms of the speed with which they were dumped out of their own party, however now their task is to put in the sort of performance which they know they are capable of with absolutely no pressure on their shoulders and find something to take away with them that they can build confidence with to go to the Asia Cup next year and look to produce on a decent stage.
The obvious thing Qatar are going to have to do in this match is tighten up defensively. Their defence has been a mess. Some of it hasn’t been helped by their inability to keep the ball and it get pinched in high areas but some of their defending has still been naïve. The longer the match with Senegal went on though and the gravity of their situation dawned on them they began to offer signs of life in attacking areas which might encourage them here in a match they have nothing to lose in.
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Team News
It appears that Louis van Gaal is not going to rush Memphis Depay back but you would imagine if he is fit enough this would be a great chance to get him a start and see if he can get to the hour mark. Matthijs de Ligt is the only Dutch player on a booking so there is no point in risking him.
It would seem as though Felix Sanchez is likely to go in with an unchanged side in what will be the final appearance in their own World Cup for Qatar. Mohammed Muntari scored from the bench against Ecuador and that might earn him a starting berth.
Betting
There are a number of bets I could take in this match but I’m going to limit myself to a couple which come firstly in the form of goals. The Netherlands will probably win the group with any sort of win but there is a scenario where Ecuador are also winning and the Dutch will need to run the score up to make sure they top the group. They might choose to do that anyway and at the same time they might not even need to intend to score, they might well find goals come naturally such is the poor defending they are likely to come up against. I would have taken the Dutch to cover some big handicaps but Qatar have nothing to lose in this match and it might be that they flood men forward like they are renowned for as they did in the latter stages of the match with Senegal and end up grabbing a goal or two themselves. Technically the Dutch are playing for something here but essentially this could quickly turn into a dead rubber so over 3 goals looks the play to me.
The other bet I like is the even money for Abdelkarim Hassan to have a shot in the match. That is just a shot. It doesn’t even have to be on target. He has had a shot in both matches Qatar has played in the tournament so far. In fact, even though he is a centre-back in this side, albeit one which is given the role of carrying the ball forward, he had four shots against Senegal in the previous game. Only one of his five shots have been from inside the box so he is if not a threat from set pieces, certainly a player who could get on the end of something. The other four shots he has had have been from insane distances. They’ve mostly flown high and wide but they’ve still been shots and in a match where there is nothing to lose the even money on him letting fly from somewhere looks a big price.
Tips
Back Over 3 goals for a 3/10 stake at 1.88 with Bet365
Back A.Hassan – 1 or more shots for a 3/10 stake at 2.00 with Betway
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