Netherlands aim to reach their second Nations League finals against the third-best side in the FIFA World Cup, Croatia.
NED vs CRO Match Details
Date: Wednesday, 14 June 2023 / Thursday, 15 June 2023
Time: 21:00 (CET), 00:30 (IST)
Venue: De Kuip, Rotterdam
NED vs CRO Match Preview
Head coach Ronald Koeman has the Netherlands are serious about winning the Nations League after coming close in his first managerial stint in the inaugural edition. The Dutch were beaten by Portugal in 2019 by a solitary goal from Goncalo Guedes. The side faces a seismic challenge in Croatia in the semi-finals before they can enter the final and without their star forward Memphis Depay who misses through injury. The Oranje Shirt dominated their group finishing top ahead of Belgium, Poland and Wales under former coach Louis van Gaal and their 14 goals tally is also the highest in the competition this season. However, his successor Koeman had a rocky start to his second spell at the club losing heavily to World Cup finalists France, 4-0 in the Euro 2024 qualifiers game in March 2023. They did overturn the result with a 3-0 win over Gibraltar at home, the performance against higher ranked nation will matter as they will go to fight Spain or Italy in the final if they progress. The Dutch have lost only once in their last games at home and being the hosts of the Nations League final could work in their favour.
Meanwhile, Zlatko Dalic’s Croatia will be equally eager, if not more, to lift a trophy in the form of the Nations League they so richly deserve. The Checkered Ones finished third in the World Cup in Qatar having been into the final of the event in 2018 as their progress continues under their loved manager. It was another power display in this tournament by topping the group containing spirited Denmark, Austria and heavyweights France. Les Bleus did not live up to expectations in surrendering their title by finishing third having lost twice to the leaders. Having that performance is a confident-builder for Croatia now trying to outsmart the Dutch in reaching another competition final. If they go on to win it, this will be remarkable not only because of the historical touch of earning their first international title but also the fact they lost the opening group stage game 3-0 to Austria. Croatia have not lost since that game last year and also had an unbeaten start to Euro 2024 qualifiers after a 1-1 draw with Wales and 2-0 Turkey in the first two matches.
Recent Form (all competitions)
NED: WLDWW
CRO: WDWLD
Recent Form (Nations League)
NED: WWWDW
CRO: WWWWD
NED vs CRO Team News
Netherlands have suffered a huge blow with Memphis Depay failing to recover from a calf injury picked up in May with his club Atletico Madrid. Defender Mathias de Ligt also added himself on the sideline with the same problem after being called up to the final squad. The Dutch federation said it has asked UEFA to replace the Bayern Munich man with fellow clubmate Daley Blind who is on the standby list. Tijjani Reijnders, Ryan Gravenberch, Steven Berghuis, Stefan de Vrij and Jeremie Frimpong are all stripped from the initial list.
Similarly, Croatia will have their star defender Josko Gvardiol with a groin injury leaving a huge gap to fill. With Dejan Lovren also retiring from international football, Dalic’s side are forced to pick a new center-back pairing. Striker Marko Livaja has also pulled out of the squad after he confronted some fans who abused him during the practice session in Rijeka. He said he will be with the national team but the ugly incident has disturbed him from being ready for the Nations League finals. Ivan Perisic is just a goal behind to be Croatia’s second-highest goal scorer overtaking Mario Mandzukic while Luka Modric is set to earn his 165th cap for his nation.
NED vs CRO Predicted Lineups
NED: Justin Bijlow; Denzel Dumfries, Jurilen Timber, Van Dijk, Nathan Ake; De Roon, De Jong, ; Steven Bergwijn, Cody Gakpo, Xabi Simons
CRO: Dominik Livakovic; Josip Juranovic, Josip Sutalo, Martin Erlic, Borna Sosa; Mateo Kovacic, Marcelo Brozovic, Luka Modric; Mario Pasalic, Andrej Kramaric, Ivan Perisic
NED vs CRO Dream11 Team Prediction
GK: Livakovic (7.5)
DEF: Sosa (8.5), Van Dijk (9), Ake (8)
MID: Koopmeiners (8.5), Modric (9), De Jong (8), Kovacic (7.5), Perisic (9)
FW: Gakpo (9), Kramaric (8.5)
Vice-captain: Luka Modric
Captain: Cody Gakpo
