Netherlands will be bidding to cement their spot at the top of Group 4 of League A in the UEFA Nations League when they welcome Wales to Rotterdam on Tuesday night.
Louis van Gaal’s side are currently at the head of the section, collecting seven points from their three matches, while Wales are bottom, having only picked up one point from their opening three games.
Netherlands opened their 2022-23 UEFA Nations League campaign with a 4-1 win over Belgium on June 3 before making it back-to-back successes by recording a 2-1 victory over Wales five days later.
Holland were prevented from making it three straight wins by Poland on Saturday night, but Van Gaal’s side had to come from two goals behind to claim a point in Rotterdam, with Davy Klaassen and Denzel Dumfries on the scoresheet early in the second half of the contest.
The hosts will be bidding to move onto 10 points on Tuesday night ahead of their final two fixtures in the section against Poland and Belgium at the end of September.
In the 2020-21 UEFA Nations League, Netherlands were second behind Italy in Group 1 of League A, with the European champions advancing to the semi-finals of the competition.
Van Gaal’s side finished second at the 2010 World Cup before claiming third in 2014, but they failed to qualify for the 2018 competition, losing three of their 10 qualification fixtures; Holland will be present at Qatar 2022, and there have been plenty of positive signs in the UEFA Nations League thus far.
Wales, meanwhile, managed to reach their first World Cup since 1958 by beating Ukraine 1-0 in their playoff last Sunday, with Gareth Bale’s deflected free kick proving to be the difference between the two sides.
The Dragons will take on United States, Iran and and England in the group stage of the 2022 competition, but they have found it difficult to impress in the UEFA Nations League thus far.
Rob Page’s side opened their 2022-23 campaign with a 2-1 loss in Poland on June 1 before going down 2-1 at home to Netherlands seven days later.
The Dragons did manage to claim a point on Saturday evening, though, with Brennan Johnson coming off the bench to register in the 86th minute after Youri Tielemans had sent the visitors ahead in Cardiff.
Wales finished top of Group 4 of League B in their last UEFA Nations League campaign, collecting 16 points from their six matches against Finland, Republic of Ireland and Bulgaria, which saw them earn promotion.
Netherlands Nations League form:
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Netherlands form (all competitions):
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Wales Nations League form:
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Wales form (all competitions):
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We say: Netherlands 2-1 Wales
Wales are more than capable of causing problems for Netherlands, and we are expecting a tight match on Tuesday night. Holland will be determined to bounce back from what was a disappointing performance against Poland, though, and we believe that Van Gaal’s side will again record a 2-1 win over Wales.