Netherlands vs Finland Prediction and Analysis: A crushing victory over their northern rivals.
The World Cup qualifying match between the Netherlands and Finland will take place at 11:00 PM on October 12th. Nghe An newspapers, radio, and television will analyze the teams' form, provide football commentary, and predict the score.
Latest information on the Netherlands vs Finland match lineups.
In the match against Malta, coach Ronald Koeman fielded Wout Weghorst in the starting lineup because striker Memphis Depay – the team's all-time leading scorer – arrived late to the training camp and was not yet in top physical condition. However, it is highly likely that these two players will switch roles in the upcoming match.
Depay's injury-time goal brought his total contribution in this qualifying round to eight (including goals and assists), and he is likely to start alongside Liverpool's Jeremie Frimpong and Cody Gakpo.
Koeman dropped several players from this call-up, including Matthijs de Ligt, Teun Koopmeiners, Sem Steijn, and Noa Lang. Young striker Mexx Meerdink of AZ Alkmaar was initially called up but later withdrew.
Donyell Malen, who has scored 10 goals in 27 appearances coming off the bench – a Dutch national team record – is another versatile attacking option that Koeman could utilize.
On the Finnish side, they are without key central defender Robert Ivanov due to accumulated yellow cards, while captain and goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky and veteran midfielder Rasmus Schuller are both injured.
It is highly likely that the goalkeeping position will be occupied by Viljami Sinisalo (Celtic) or Jesse Joronen (Palermo). In attack, striker Joel Pohjanpalo – Joronen's teammate at the Sicilian club – will be the main hope for the visiting team.
Latest predicted lineups for Netherlands vs Finland
Netherlands:
Verbruggen; Dumfries, Van Hecke, Van Dijk, Van de Ven; Gravenberch, De Jong, Reijnders; Frimpong, Depay, Gakpo
Finland:
Joronen; Alho, Tenho, Koski, Uronen; Lod, Kairinen, Markhiyev; Kallman, Pohjanpalo, Antman
Latest football match prediction: Netherlands vs Finland
After a somewhat shaky performance in the September international break, the Netherlands regained their form in midweek matches, scoring four goals against an opponent they had beaten eight times earlier in the year.
Cody Gakpo scored two penalty goals in each half, had one disallowed for offside, and assisted Tijjani Reijnders' goal, helping the Netherlands defeat hosts Malta.
This victory propelled "The Orange Tornado" to the top of Group G with a three-point lead, in a performance that was both dominant and composed, although not yet at its peak.
It was a much-needed comeback after a disappointing run of form last month, when they dropped their first point against Poland and nearly suffered an upset against Lithuania.
Ronald Koeman's team conceded an equalizer after leading by two goals, but ultimately won 3-2 in Kaunas. The more comfortable victory against Malta shows that the Netherlands have regained stability and are now in complete control of the game.
If they win on Sunday, the Netherlands will officially eliminate Finland from the World Cup qualification race, before facing Poland in a decisive match for the top spot in the group in the middle of next month.
Finland, meanwhile, must win to keep their hopes alive of topping the group and securing their first-ever direct World Cup qualification spot. They travel to the Johan Cruijff ArenA under immense pressure, having lost all five of their most recent encounters with the Netherlands in qualifying matches this century, including a 0-2 defeat at home in June.
Although theoretically still having a chance, Finland has played one more game than the Netherlands and Poland – who currently have the same 10 points but possess a superior goal difference.
Danish coach Jacob Friis took over the Finnish national team in January and started the campaign quite well with a 1-0 victory against Malta, then earned four more points in the next three matches.
That brought them closer to a top-two finish – meaning a play-off spot – but a 1-3 defeat to Poland last month significantly narrowed those chances.
In the FIFA rankings, Finland dropped to 71st place and only managed a hard-fought 2-1 victory against Lithuania on Thursday, with Benjamin Kallman and Adam Markhiyev scoring to give their team a successful comeback.
Latest Netherlands vs Finland score prediction
Based on the above football analysis, we and leading football websites worldwide have provided our predictions for the match.Netherlands vs Finlandas follows:
- Sportsmole:Netherlands 2-0 Finland
- WhoScore:Netherlands 2-1 Finland
- We predict:Netherlands 2-0 Finland
When and where can I watch the Netherlands vs Finland match live?
To watch the Netherlands vs Finland match live in the World Cup qualifiers at 11:00 PM on October 12th, viewers can tune in to the following channels:K+ Sport,K+PMor online sports channels. We hope you enjoy watching football.