North Macedonia vs Netherlands
North Macedonia vs Netherlands takes place on June 21 at the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam as Group C winds to a conclusion. North Macedonia are now just playing for pride having been eliminated from the tournament while Netherlands know they qualify as group winners with just a draw. Read on for more analysis, match predictions and betting tips.
Form
It’s been a tough debut tournament for North Macedonia, and while they have shown some pluck in their games against Austria and Ukraine it has unfortunately not been quite enough. Against Ukraine they found themselves 2-0 down at half-time, and despite Leeds United midfielder Ezgjan Alioski scoring the rebound from his saved penalty, they were unable to push on enough to equalise. That leaves them with just pride to play for now against the strongest team in the group.
Frank de Boer’s Netherlands side look to be hitting their stride in this tournament, having outclassed Austria 2-0 in their second group game. De Boer had been in for some criticism having stuck with a 5-3-2 formation but wing-back Denzel Dumfries has blossomed and he scored again to make it 2-0 in this game. Gini Wijnaldum has also shown Liverpool fans what they will be missing next year with another fine performance in midfield.
Injuries
Igor Angelovski has no injury worries to contend with going into the final game, leaving the only question if he intends to rotate his squad to cope with the stronger opponents than the previous two games. Veteran forward Goran Pandev will no doubt start in what is his first and probably last major tournament finals; whether he can cap that off with a second goal in Euro2020 remains to be seen.
Defender Matthijs de Ligt returned from a groin injury to start against Austria but there will be question marks over whether Frank de Boer will risk him in what is ultimately a dead rubber. Other than that, it’s likely de Boer will continue with the 5-3-2 formation which has served him well and which has delivered goals for the Oranje in this tournament. PSV defender Denzel Dumfries has shown especially how much freedom the formation has given him to get forwards and it will be intriguing to see if he can add to his first two international goals.
Match Predictions
The Netherlands are red hot favourites for this game with most bookies offering 1.30 or less against Frank de Boer’s team capping their group stage games off with a third win. However, it does appear that the bookies are less convinced by the Dutch defense as they are offering only 2.00 in the BTTS market. There could also be value betting tips in the over/under goals markets, with over 3.5 goals at 2.50. The only question is how much the Dutch will push for the win - and how desperate North Macedonia will be to just not lose a third time.
