Scotland meet Netherlands in a friendly on neutral territory at Estadio Algarve, Portugal, as both teams prepare for Euro 2020.
Scotland are preparing for their first tournament in 23 years whereas Netherlands are gearing up for their return to the proper international stage for the first time since 2014 FIFA World Cup, despite the Oranje having finished runners-up of 2018-19 UEFA Nations League.
Team News
John Fleck is ruled out for Scotland after testing positive for Coronavirus and will remain at the Tartan Army’s training camp in La Finca, Spain.
Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour are also absent after featuring in Europa League and Champions League Finals for Manchester United and Chelsea respectively.
Netherlands have no injury concerns to report with a full squad including some well-known Premier League stars like Nathan Ake and Georginio Wijnaldum amongst others.
Stat Attack
- Scotland have won just three of 11 previous friendlies against Netherlands (W3, D3, L5).
- Netherlands have lost just one of four previous friendlies against Scotland as the ‘away’ team (W3, L1).
- Scotland are unbeaten in three of their last five friendlies held on neutral territory (W2, D1, L2).
- Luuk de Jong has scored in all three of Netherlands’ matches in 2021 (W2, L1).
- John McGinn has scored three goals in two of Scotland’s three matches in 2021.
Prediction
Scotland come into this match unbeaten in 2021 after clinching a ruthless win over Faroe Islands last time out in which they were excellent in their attacking play, utilising a solid blend of patience and pace to create opportunities which were finished clinically.
Netherlands meanwhile enjoyed a strong seven goal win over Gibraltar with this match now representing a chance for Frank de Boer to experiment with his tactics and formation, especially given the talented depth of his squad who will all want regular starts.
I therefore am expecting a good game here because Netherlands should dominate but if Scotland are able to deliver a disciplined display with patient build-up and swift counter-attacks, I can see them causing some issues but the Netherlands should win this given their quality defence even without Virgil Van Dijk.
Prediction: Scotland 0-2 Netherlands
Result: Scotland 2-2 Netherlands
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