Netherlands and France meet in Friday's heavyweight UEFA Euro 2024 clash in Group D with a round of 16 place at stake in Leipzig. All the pregame talk has been about Kylian Mbappe's fitness after suffering a broken nose in the narrow opening win over Austria while both sides secured maximum points in their opening games. Didier Deschamps' men edged a 1-0 success while Ronald Koeman's side came from behind to win 2-1 against Poland with those two meeting in the earlier game. But the nose issue has kept Mbappe out of the starting lineup on Friday, leaving France to chase a result without their talisman.
Cody Gakpo and Wout Weghorst's goals undid Adam Buksa's opener for Oranje while Maximilian Wober's own goal after some dazzling play from Mbappe was enough for the French. The Dutch have had injury issues of their own such as losing Frenkie de Jong and Teun Koopmeiners just before the tournament but there is still plenty of quality on both sides. A Netherlands win would guarantee a top two finish having scored more than France already.
These two met in qualifying with France winning 4-0 in Paris and 2-1 in Amsterdam thanks to Mbappe's brilliance. Les Bleus might be deprived of that and their skipper, though, after his broken nose makes him a doubt for Friday's encounter. How Deschamps handles that in attack will be critical but if any nation has the strength in depth and quality to cope it is the 2018 FIFA World Cup winners. Seven wins out of eight games vs. Netherlands s also a very good record to hold coming into this matchup.
Here's our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
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How to watch and odds
- Date: Friday, June 21 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: Leipzig Stadium - Leipzig, Germany
- Watch: FOX or Fubo (try for free)
- Odds: Netherlands +225; Draw +225; France +130
Group D
With France and Netherlands both on three points, a win for either side secures them a place in the round of 16. A draw will not confirm that status here, but it will position both well to advance and would arguably suit both. A loss for either is not disastrous given their final games are winnable but both will be wary of how close Poland and Austria were capable of pushing their opponents in the opening games.
| Team | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| France | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Austria | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| Poland | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
June 16
Netherlands 2, Poland 1
June 17
Austria 0, France 1
June 21
Poland 1, Austria 3
Netherlands vs. France, 3 p.m. on Fox
June 25
Netherlands vs. Austria, 12 p.m. on FS1
France vs. Poland, 12 p.m. on Fox
Team news
Netherlands: Brian Brobbey is training so Koeman should have a full squad to pick from although Joey Veerman's yellow card means that a one-game ban could come into effect if he is booked again here. Weghorst could start but Memphis Depay is still the most likely to lead the line for the time being.
Possible Netherlands XI: Verbruggen; Dumfries, De Vrij, Van Dijk, Ake; Schouten, Veerman; Simons, Reijnders, Gakpo; Depay.
France: Mbappe's fitness is the big topic in the French camp with a protective mask required if the French superstar and captain is to play on in Germany. Deschamps is likely to go with Olivier Giroud who came on against Austria to make his seventh different international tournament appearance. Eduardo Camavinga and Aurelien Tchouameni could be passed fit but N'Golo Kante should keep his startying role after a superb showing in Dusseldorf.
Possible France XI: Maignan; Kounde, Saliba, Upamecano, Hernandez; Kante, Rabiot; Dembele, Griezmann, Thuram; Giroud.
Prediction
This one is likely to be tight with a draw highly possible but Les Bleus generally tend to specialize in grinding out results when needed in big tournaments and that could be the case again here. Pick: Netherlands 0, France 1.
