Euro 2024: The Oranje March Starts in Hamburg

Poland vs Netherlands

With France expected to take the top berth in Group D, the second spot is going to be up for grabs between the three teams below them, making this Sunday match between Poland and the Netherlands important to watch.

Poland and the Netherlands know the importance of this matchup because both nations went through a lot to make it to Euro 2024.

The Poles were the last team to book their tickets to Germany by beating Wales in the play-offs, while it took the Oranje until the ninth matchday of the qualifiers, where they beat the Republic of Ireland, to fully secure their berth.

The pre-game SBOTOP betting odds predict that the Netherlands will breeze past Poland, but injuries to both teams make the outcome less straightforward than most would expect.

Talking Points

Poland are compromised up front

Unfortunately for Poland, they are not expected to make a deep run into the Euros because they’ve been hit by the injury bug, even if the tournament hasn’t even started yet.

According to the Euro 2024 updates, the Poles will be missing the services of Robert Lewandowski, Arek Milik, and Karol Swiderski, all of whom are the country’s best strikers.

Lewandowski and Swiderski suffered injuries during their last exhibition game against Turkey, while Milik hurt himself against Ukraine a few days before.

Milik is completely removed from Michal Probierz’s squad, while the hope for the Poles is that both Lewandowski and Swiderski are going to be available against Austria and France.

With all of them sidelined, Poland’s midfielders have to pick up the slack offencively, so look for the likes of Nicola Zalewski, Piotr Zielinski, Jakub Moder, Przemyslaw Frankowski, and Sebastian Szymanski to try and assert themselves.

At the same time, Poland will need to be rock solid at the back against the Netherlands, with Jan Bednarek, Jakub Kiwior, and Pawel Dawidowicz all covering for Wojciech Szczesny.

Netherlands have a midfield hole

The Netherlands aren’t spared by the injury bug either, as head coach Ronald Koeman won’t have Frenkie de Jong and Teun Koopmeiners to lead their midfield.

Koeman was particularly angry at his former team, Barcelona, for their “mismanagement” of de Jong, who has dealt with a nagging ankle issue this season.

As for Koopmeiners, the Europa League winner unfortunately sustained a groin injury during the warm-up before the exhibition game against Iceland on Tuesday.

With Frenkie de Jong and Teun Koopmeiners ruled out, the Netherlands called up Joshua Zirkzee and Ian Maatsen to take their roster spots.

Tijjani Reijnders, Joey Veerman, and Jerdy Schouten will be busy holding it down for the Oranje in the middle of the park, while Gini Wijnaldum and Ryan Gravenberch are on standby.

However, at the end of the day, the Oranje are likely to beat the Poles because they have so many weapons up front, such as Memphis Depay, Wout Weghorst, Xavi Simons, Cody Gakpo, Brian Brobbey, Joshua Zirkzee, and Steven Bergwijn.

History

Poland and the Netherlands haven’t faced off since the UEFA Nations League in 2022.

Their first encounter in the group stage yielded a 2-2 draw, as Matty Cash, Piotr Zielinski, Davy Klaassen, and Denzel Dumfries all found the back of the net. But the Oranje fared better in their second meeting, as they secured a 2-0 win through goals from Cody Gakpo and Steven Bergwijn.

The Netherlands finished on top of League A Group 4 because they went undefeated with five wins and one draw (16 points). However, they had to settle for fourth place after losing to Croatia in the semi-finals and to Italy in the battle for third place.

Poland have qualified for the Euros for the fourth consecutive time since 2008, but they never went past the quarter-finals. The Netherlands, on the other hand, are seeking their first Euros title since 1988.

Betting Tip

The Netherlands are poised to beat Poland on Sunday, as per the Euro 2024 odds. The Oranje are 1.53 favourites to win, whereas Poland are 6.10 underdogs, and a draw is priced at 3.93 in the 1X2 market.

Goals can come in bunches from this contest, with the Oranje likely to score more, so betting options like Over 2.25 at 1.76, Over 2.50 at 2.04, and Total Goals 2-3 at 1.90 are all worth considering other than our recommended bet above.

A Correct Score of 2-0 in favour of the Oranje – the result of their most recent meeting – is also valued at 6.40. But if it is the other way around, then you’ll have a chance for a whopping payday of 40.00.

 

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