Netherlands vs Germany

Johan Cruijff Arena forms the backdrop for a mouth-watering UEFA Nations League showdown between the Netherlands and Germany.

It was a scintillating Group A3 start for the Netherlands as they dispatched Bosnia & Herzegovina 5-2 in Eindhoven, providing a perfect response to a morale-wracking Euro 2024 semi-final exit at the hands of England. Though Germany’s visit to Amsterdam promises a much sterner task, it’s worth noting that the Netherlands’ first-ever Nations League win came against this opposition in October 2018 en route to their runner-up finish in the competition’s maiden iteration. Ronald Koeman’s men are on the brink of history as they could score in 27 consecutive home games for the first time after the abovementioned triumph against Bosnia extended their winning home streak to five matches. With the Dutch bagging 4+ goals across their last four outings on home soil, it’s only natural to assume they’ll make it to the scoreboard at least once.

While the Netherlands’ scoring prowess at home potentially spells trouble for Germany, they’ll unlikely feel threatened by their hosts’ attacking potential after dismantling Hungary 5-0 in their biggest-ever Nations League victory at the weekend. Amends are in store for ‘Die Mannschaft’ after a gut-wrenching quarter-final elimination at Euro 2024, and winning only their fifth Nations League match in 14 sounds like a promising start (W4, D9, L4). Ominously for head coach Julian Nagelsmann, only one of those four victories came in foreign lands (D4, L3). Germany must improve on that dire traveling record to bolster their chances of winning their first Nations League title, yet one win from their last five visits to the Netherlands doesn’t bode well (D3, L1).