France-Holland is a match on the first day of Group B of the Euro 2024 qualifiers and is played on Friday at 20:45: TV, likely formations, predictions.
Didier Deschamps was left disconsolate on the sidelines, intent on consoling Kylian Mbappé, while Leo Messi exploded with joy with the coveted World Cup in his hands. Last December, France suffered one of the most bitter disappointments in their history as they lost their chance of winning a second World Cup in a row on penalties in the Qatar 2022 final against Argentina.
A crazy match, a rollercoaster of emotions, which ultimately rewarded the South Americans. Les Bleus, however, played an excellent World Cup, coming within a step of repeating their 2018 triumph. The former Juventus coach therefore earned his reappointment, thus banishing the shadow of his old teammate Zinedine Zidane, who was ready to take his place. Deschamps will still be the selector of the transalpine selection, which is also a candidate to be one of the main protagonists in the European Championship to be held in the summer of 2024 in Germany. The road to get there is devoid of major obstacles: the only one that can somehow threaten the supremacy of the vice-world champions is Holland, another noble of world football. For the rest, there are only extras in Group B, such as Ireland, Greece and little Gibraltar. The top two in each group qualify, which is why it is quite unlikely that France will not manage to snatch a pass for the next European championship.
Mbappé wants to forget Lusail
The opener is with the Dutch, on the illustrious stage of the Stade de France in Saint Denis. Deschamps has lost Lloris, Varane and Benzema, who bid farewell to the national team after Qatar. The new captain of the Bleus will be Mbappé, while in goal begins the era of Milan’s Maignan, already a starter against the Netherlands.
Van Dijk and Koeman
Leading France’s forward department will be the other Roma player Giroud, who has struggled a bit in the last period with AC Milan. In midfield instead there is the now untouchable Rabiot, protagonist of a great season with Juventus. On the left flank, instead, it is a duel between Theo Hernandez and Camavinga, who often plays that role with Real Madrid. In front, the various Kolo Muani and Thuram could also find space in the match in progress, and the two defensive centre-backs should be Konaté and Upamecano. As far as the Oranje are concerned, Ronald Koeman, former Netherlands coach from 2018 to 2020, is preparing for his (new) debut. The former Barcelona coach has taken over from Louis van Gaal, whose experience ended after the eventful quarter-final with Argentina, which ended amid controversy. Koeman’s chosen form is the 4-3-3 but in the last few hours he has had to reckon with a series of non-trivial defections, in addition to those of de Jong and Bergwijn. Gakpo, de Ligt, Botman, Veerman and Verbruggen, suffering from an intestinal virus, will not be available.
In the centre of defence with van Dijk will play de Vrij, while Dumfries and Aké will act on the outside. In midfield Wijnaldum is back, available again after his long injury lay-off. In the trident, in addition to Weghorst, will be Depay and Simons.
The prediction
France have won four of their last five meetings with the Netherlands, who have not beaten the transalpines since 2018. Mbappé and his teammates will aim to set the record straight right away, with the goal of forgetting the World Cup disappointment as soon as possible. The Dutch will not disfigure themselves, but the vice-world champions remain the favourites for this challenge: no national team has so much talent. All the ingredients seem to be in place for a spectacular match, in which both teams should score.
France-Holland line-up probables
- FRANCE (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Koundé, Konaté, Upamecano, Theo Hernandez; Tchouaméni, Rabiot; Coman, Griezmann, Mbappé; Giroud.
- LAND (4-3-3): Cillessen; Dumfries, de Vrij, van Dijk, Aké; Wijnaldum, de Roon, Berghuis; Simons, Weghorst, Depay.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 2-1
