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The two rivals will have the disadvantage of having one day less to prepare for the final against Portugal on Sunday night, but the opportunity to grab major honours should reduce tiredness levels even at this late stage of the football season.
Date: June 6, 2019
England captain Harry Kane has shown no ill-effects following his return to fitness in the Champions’ League Final against Liverpool last Saturday. Kane was relatively ineffective against the Merseysiders and it remains to be seen if England boss Gareth Southgate decides to go with the Tottenham man.
Southgate has several other options in attack, if he decides to leave Kane out of the starting line-up with Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling and Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford obvious options to consider, either with or without Kane.
Everton goalkeeper, Jordan Pickford is expected to keep his place in goal, while Borussia Dortmund wonderkid, Jadon Sancho is likely for a right-wing berth in his latest development at international level.
Netherlands boss Ronald Koeman also has selection dilemmas following the Champions’ League final with Liverpool pair, Virgil van Dijk and Georginio Wijnaldum. It is likely that both stars will play, especially as Wijnaldum was withdrawn in the second half against Tottenham for James Milner.
Lyon forward Memphis Depay is likely to lead the line for the Netherlands on Thursday night alongside PSV Eindhoven’s Steven Bergwijn and former Fulham man, Ryan Babel.
The resurgence of Ajax in this seasons’ Champions League run to the semi-finals will see the likes of Matthijs De Ligt, Donny van de Beek and Daley Blind as likely starters in this hugely important clash.
Thursday’s meeting between these two high-profile nations is the 34th meeting in all competitions. England have had the majority of success with 14 wins, ten draws and nine defeats. The Three Lions have won just one of the last eight meetings, but that was their last battle, with a Jesse Lingard strike on the hour mark sealing a 1-0 friendly victory last March.
England have won their last five games – including scoring ten goals in their last two outings – since a 0-0 draw against Croatia back in October. Southgate’s men are a best price of 6/4 with Unibet, and Betway.
The Netherlands are narrowly the second-most preferred option in the Match Betting, and Unibet once again are top price of the Dutch at 43/20, while the Draw can be had with 888Sport at the most rewarding odds of 23/10.
An alternative to the Match Betting is the To Qualify market, where England are a 3/4 chance with Betway to progress to the Nations League finals, while the Netherlands are an 11/10 shot with William Hill and SportingBet to dash the hopes of the English.
For punters who are wishing to get involved in the Outright market for the Nations League, England can be backed with Unibet and 888Sport at the top price of 2/1, while the Dutch can be had with Betway at the best industry odds of 100/30.
Harry Kane
Harry Kane is the market leader in the First Goalscorer calculations for this game. England captain Kane is far from certain to start the game in my view, so it could be a wise decision to wait until the teams are announced before the match. Betway has the Spurs striker as their 4/1 favourite to open the scoring on Thursday night.
Holland’s main striking threat is likely to come from Memphis Depay. 10Bet and SportPesa are top price on the 25-year-old forward at 11/2, and he has a knack of scoring goals in the most important fixtures.
Raheem Sterling has been a cause of real debate in an England shirt in recent months and will have another opportunity to enhance his burgeoning reputation on Thursday night. The Manchester City forward has made big strides since his ineffective performances in front of goal in last years’ World Cup. His intelligent, probing attacking play is key to Southgate’s attacking formation. Unibet go the standout odds of 6/1 on Sterling to open the scoring.
Marcus Rashford is as short at 4/1 with Ladbrokes and Coral to score first in this game, but if punters fancy the United man to bag the first goal, then they should point their arrows and click on the Unibet website at the top price of 13/2.
The main strength of the Netherlands team is their strong spine within the XI. We have already mentioned Depay, but Donny van de Beek and Virgil van Dijk should be under consideration for First Goal Scorer calculations. Ajax man van de Beek is a 16/1 chance with Betfred and SportPesa, while Liverpool and Holland talisman van Dijk can be backed with SportPesa once again and 10Bet at 25/1.
A long-range poke goes in the direction of Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold who is 40/1 to open the scoring with Ladbrokes and William Hill. Hills and SportingBet are also worth noting by going 16/1 on a goal at any time.
This game is very likely to be a close affair, with plenty of goal-mouth action. A narrow preference is for England to prevail in this game, and that belief could prove profitable with England to win the match and both teams to score at 19/5 with Betfred. For punters who believe the Netherlands can qualify via the same method, they should choose Betway, who offer 19/4 as an alternative.
Our Correct Score selection for this game is for an England 2-1 win over the Netherlands at 37/4 with RedZone, which is the standout price on the market at the time of writing.
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