France vs Netherlands

Get ready for a footballing extravaganza at the iconic Stade de France as two of Europe’s heavyweights, France and the Netherlands, lock horns in an opening Euro 2024 qualification Group B encounter.

As France kick off their 2024 Euro qualification campaign, all eyes are on Didier Deschamps, who looks to bounce back from their heartbreaking penalty shootout defeat against Argentina in the 2022 World Cup final. The opening clash between the top two FIFA-ranked sides in Group B marks the beginning of a new era for the French national team. With the recent resignation of the French football federation president, Noel le Graet, and the retirement of several key players, including former captain Hugo Lloris, it’s up to new skipper Kylian Mbappe to lead this new-look French squad. After becoming only the second player in history to net a hat-trick in the World Cup final, Mbappe will be keen to help ‘Les Bleus’ build on an impressive six-game H2H run against the Netherlands (W5, L1).

Meanwhile, like their hosts, the Netherlands’ World Cup journey ended at the hands of Argentina in the quarter-finals, bringing Louis van Gaal’s third managerial tenure at the ‘Oranje’ to a halt. However, facing France in a qualifier brings back unpleasant memories for the Dutch, as they failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, in part due to two defeats ‘to nil’ against ‘Les Bleus’ during the qualifying stage. New boss Koeman will be hoping for a different outcome this time around, especially given his team’s impressive recent form, having not suffered a 90-minute defeat since June 2021, with 14 wins and six draws to their name across the last 20 internationals. Moreover, the visitors have won their last three competitive away matches, including two via multi-goal margins.