Comments and predictions for Spain vs Netherlands: The King's mettle

Latest Spain vs Netherlands team information

Spain will be without Pau Cubarsi for the return leg this Sunday, after the young Barcelona centre-back was forced off at half-time in the first leg and later withdrawn from the squad through injury.

This opens up the opportunity for Dean Huijsen – who replaced Cubarsi in the previous match – to potentially make his first La Roja start in the centre-back position.

Coach Luis de la Fuente could consider bringing Mikel Merino or Dani Olmo into the starting line-up, but both are likely to remain on the bench, with Alvaro Morata expected to keep his place as a centre-forward.

Apart from Cubarsi, Spain has no further problems with its squad and still has a relatively stable squad for the decisive match at home.

On the Dutch side, they are also forced to make adjustments after young midfielder Jorrel Hato was suspended after receiving a red card in the first leg. In addition, Jurrien Timber will not be able to participate due to illness.

Ian Maatsen has been called up as a replacement and Jeremie Frimpong is likely to be pushed back to right-back, while Lutsharel Geertruida will fill the left-back slot.

Up front, Xavi Simons could be brought in to start on the right flank, while Memphis Depay is almost certain to continue leading the line. Justin Kluivert and Cody Gakpo are both strong options to support Depay in the decisive second leg.

Latest expected lineup for Spain vs Netherlands

Spain:

Simon; Porro, Le Normand, Huijsen, Cucurella; Pedri, Zubimendi, Ruiz; Yamal, Morata, N Williams

Netherlands:

Verbruggen; Frimpong, Van Hecke, Van Dijk, Geertruida; Reijnders, F de Jong; Simons, Kluivert, Gakpo; Memphis

Latest football commentary Spain vs Netherlands

Spain got off to the perfect start in the first leg on Thursday, with Nico Williams opening the scoring in the ninth minute. However, the Netherlands quickly responded with goals from Cody Gakpo and Tijjani Reijnders to seal a 2-1 win.

Under coach Luis de la Fuente, Spain played quite disjointedly for most of the second half, but still managed to equalize thanks to Mikel Merino - who came off the bench and took advantage of goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen's error to bring the match back to balance.

La Roja's six-match winning streak was halted, but they remain unbeaten in competitive matches for almost two years, since a 2-0 defeat to Scotland in March 2023.

As reigning Nations League champions – having beaten Croatia in the 2022-23 final on penalties – Spain are aiming to retain their title, with the upcoming second leg set to determine who advances to the semi-finals against Croatia or France in early June.

As for the Netherlands, they controlled the game well after leading 2-1, until Jorrel Hato was sent off in the 81st minute for an uncontrolled tackle on Robin Le Normand. However, the positive performance in the first leg certainly brought a lot of confidence to coach Ronald Koeman and his team.

The Orange-and-Whites have lost just one of their last seven games in all competitions and reached the semi-finals of Euro 2024, where they lost to England. In the Nations League group stage, the Netherlands finished second behind Germany with nine points from six games.

This is the third consecutive time the orange team has made it to the final stage of the Nations League. They finished second in 2019 after losing 0-1 to France in the final, and fourth in 2023 after losing to Croatia and Italy.

With a talented squad, the Netherlands are gradually reasserting their position as a strong candidate for major tournaments, and a victory over Spain in the second leg would be a strong message to the rest of Europe.

Latest Spain vs Netherlands score prediction

Based on the above football comments, we and the world's leading football sites have given the results of the match.Spain vs Netherlandsas follows:

• Sportsmole:Spain 2-0 Netherlands

• WhoScore:Spain 2-1 Netherlands
• Our newspaper predicts:Spain 2-1 Netherlands

When and where to watch Spain vs Netherlands live?

To watch live the Spain vs Netherlands match in the Nations League taking place at 1:45 a.m. on March 24, viewers can watch onK+ Sport,K+PMor online sports channels. Wish you have fun watching football.