After missing out on a place in Russia 2018, Netherlands are back in a major tournament and will play their first game when they face Ukraine in the first of their group match this Sunday.
Stadium: Johan Cruijff Arena (Amsterdam)
Key Statistics
The Netherlands are unbeaten in four games. They have scored 2+ goals in seven consecutive matches row.
Ukraine are making a third consecutive appearance at the European Championship. They are unbeaten in their last six games but have won just two of their last nine games (D4, L3)
Head to Head
1 Netherlands win: 1 Draw; Netherlands scored 4 against 1 by Ukraine ( in total 2 matches).
Latest Performances
Netherlands: WDWWLW
Ukraine: WWDDDD
Netherlands
Netherlands are trying to redeem an image that had been tarnished by the failure of missing out on the 2018 World Cup in Russia and a difficult loss to Portugal in the UEFA Nations League final a year later.
Although the Oranje, who won the 1988 edition of the European Championship, have a team capable of beating any side, they are not seen as one of the favourites in this summer’s edition.
They will, however, want to prove the doubters wrong and show that Dutch football isn’t in the past.
Frank de Boer’s side qualified for this stage of the tournament by winning six of their eight qualifier fixtures while finishing second in Group C behind Germany.
They head into this tournament with five wins from their last seven games (L1, D1), making them one of the more stable teams this year.
The Oranje will fancy their chances in this round as they aim to finish top of their group with the advantage of all three of their Group stage games set to be played in Amsterdam.
Possible line-ups
Maarten Stekelenburg, Denzel Dumfries, Matthijs de Ligt, Stefan de Vrij, Daley Blind, Owen Wijndal, Marten de Roon, Georginio Wijnaldum, Frenkie de Jong, Memphis Depay, Wout Weghorst.
We’ve watched videos of Ukraine and I know some of their players; I’ve seen them playing. I think they are a good team with a lot of quality. They’re well organised and play decent football, so straight away it’s a tough opponent … Matthijs de Ligt won’t be playing. And Maarten Stekelenburg is my first-choice keeper.
Frank de Boer, Netherlands
Ukraine
Ukraine qualified for this stage of the competition by winning six of their eight group games and going unbeaten throughout while topping their group. Because of that, they are the only Group C nation that topped their qualifying group.
However, their form heading into this tournament hasn’t been really impressive as they have won just two times in nine games. Although they are unbeaten in six games, four of those were 1-1 draws.
Andriy Shevchenko’s side did win two of their last two games, however, to ensure that they enter the group stages on a winning run.
Possible line-ups
Andriy Pyatov, Oleksandr Karavayev, Serhiy Kryvtsov, Mykola Matviyenko, Vitaliy Mykolenko, Taras Stepanenko, Andriy Yarmolenko, Ruslan Malinovskyi, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Oleksandr Zubkov, Roman Yaremchuk.
The main task for the team is to go through the group stage. We understand that we will have to play against very strong teams and that the Netherlands are one of the favourites. The main thing is that we have a certain style we are playing and we will not change that. We have our own principles which we abide by. So we might have an opportunity to play 4-3-3 or, for example, 3-5-2, but our own principles will not change.
Andriy Shevchenko, Ukraine
Betting Odds
Netherlands : Draw : Ukraine :: 1.53 : 4.00 : 6.50
| Netherlands Goal | Ukraine Goal | Betting Odds |
| 1 | 0 | 8.00 |
| 1 | 1 | 8.50 |
| 2 | 0 | 8.50 |
| 2 | 1 | 9.00 |
| 0 | 0 | 12.00 |
| 3 | 0 | 13.00 |
Prediction
Netherlands 2-1 Ukraine
