The Netherlands know they must bounce back from a 3-2 loss to Austria when they play Romania in the Euro 2024 Round of 16. The penultimate game of the round will take place at 5pm (BST) on July 2 in Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena. The two nations last played each other in 2017 with the Dutch side running out 3-0 winners. Here is our Netherlands predicted lineup for a crucial game in their manager’s future.
Netherlands Predicted Lineup Vs Romania in Knockout Clash
How the Netherlands Have Lined Up Recently
Koeman made three changes to his side for the disappointing defeat to Austria. Lutsharel Geertruida replaced Denzel Dumfries, Joey Veerman replaced Xavi Simons, and Donyell Malen replaced Jeremie Frimpong. The changes seemed to unsettle the Netherlands and they were a disaster defensively; Marco Arnautovic bullied Stefan de Vrijj and the defence kept losing attackers running in behind.
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Despite the poor performances of the players in front of him, Bart Verbruggen didn’t put a foot wrong against Austria. Dumfries should return to the starting lineup at right-back after Gertruida’s shaky defensive display last time out. Matthijs de Ligt, the Bayern “star”, may finally make his Euro 2024 debut after De Vrijj’s aerial struggles against Arnautovic. Virgil Van Dijk and Nathan Ake weren’t at their best in the defeat but that was caused by the chaos around them more than their poor performance.
In midfield, Koeman gave Veerman one final chance to impress in the Netherlands’ final group game. However, the PSV midfielder completed only 47% of his passes and was replaced by Simons with just 35 minutes on the clock. Tijjani Reijnders continued his impressive tournament and is the only guaranteed starter in midfield. Jerdy Schouten seems to be growing into Euro 2024: the 27-year-old won all five of his duels against Austria.
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In attack, Cody Gakpo has been the Oranje’s star man. The 25-year-old has played aggressively from the left wing all tournament and may have new manager Arne Slot considering where he should play for Liverpool. Koeman has tried several options on the right wing with nobody making the position their own. The only winger yet to get a chance, Steven Bergwijn, may be thrown in the deep end against Romania. Memphis Depay got his first goal of Euro 2024 against Austria and should be given the chance to build some momentum.
Recent Form and Tactics
After winning against Poland in their tournament opener, a draw to France and a loss in their final group game saw Ronald Koeman’s side scrape through as one of the best third-placed teams in the group stage.
The loss to Austria ended a run of four games without defeat. The Netherlands, like many big nations, are still yet to find their best form at Euro 2024. Even in their one victory over Poland, the Oranje had to rely on a late Wout Weghorst winner. The fact that the Dutch are playing a Romanian team ranked 47th in the Fifa World Rankings should motivate the team to turn their tournament around.
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The 4-2-3-1 formation that Koeman has decided to go with so far has provided the Netherlands with a good platform to attack. However, if the midfield is wasteful and too attacking, the defence can be left exposed. This happened against Austria, where the Oranje looked a shell of the team that kept a clean sheet against France. The former Barcelona manager has to find the right balance in midfield as they look to advance to the quarter-finals.
Injuries to Consider
Despite an injury-hit Euro 2024 preparation, the Netherlands have been injury-free during the tournament. Brian Brobbey has fully recovered from a muscle problem suffered before the Netherlands’ opener, whilst Joshua Zirkzee has returned to training following a brief illness. Neither of the young strikers have played so far this summer with Koeman preferring to use the experienced Weghorst from the bench.
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Netherlands Predicted Lineup
Gk: Bart Verbruggen
RB: Denzel Dumfries
CB: Matthijs de Ligt
CB: Virgil van Dijk
LB: Nathan Ake
DM: Jerdy Schouten
DM: Tijjani Reijnders
AM: Xavi Simons
LW: Cody Gakpo
RW: Steven Bergwijn
ST: Memphis Depay
