Germany Favored Over Netherlands in Euro 2020 Qualifying Group C Showdown

• Germany can pull ahead of Northern Ireland at top of Group C with a win
• Netherlands have only taken three points from opening two qualifying games
• The Dutch haven’t won in Germany since 2002

From their first competitive meeting in the 1974 World Cup final through to Germany’s 3-2 win in Amsterdam back in March, matches between the Netherlands and Germany are generally always fraught rivalry games.

And while it will likely be devoid of the kind of schoolyard spitting between Rudi Voller and Frank Rijkaard that dominated their meeting at the 1990 World Cup, Today’s match at 2:45 pm EST will almost certainly follow suit.

UEFA 2020 Group C – Germany vs. Netherlands Odds

*Odds taken on September 6, 2019

Wide-Open Contest

Having not faced off against each other in six years prior to last October, Friday’s meeting will be the fourth game between Germany and the Netherlands in less than 12 months. And it’s been goals galore so far, with the teams finding the back of the net a combined 12 times in those games.

While the Dutch drew first blood with their win and subsequent draw that helped propel them into the Nations League semifinals, Germany had a measure of revenge with victory in Euro 2020 qualifying.

https://youtu.be/eB5a3Emwe6k

Striking Concerns

The Germans will be without injured Manchester City forward Leroy Sane, who had scored in five of Germany’s previous six games – including two against the Netherlands. The four-time world champions will likely rely on RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner, who has a decent international strike rate of 10 goals in 25 appearances at this level.

For a country that has produced the likes of Marco van Basten, Dennis Bergkamp and Robin van Persie, the Netherlands’ striking options appear somewhat limited of late. Though manager Ronald Koeman insists that Friday’s game is “not crucial” to his team’s chances of qualifying for Euro 2020, he will need goals from somewhere.

He will be relying on the likes of winger Memphis Depay and his 16 goals in 48 appearances and/or Luuk de Jong, who has just four in 19 caps, to spearhead the Oranje attack.

Germany vs Netherlands Head-to-Head

Rearguard Action

While the Dutch may be light up front, at the back they boast one of the top center-back pairings in world football, with UEFA Player of the Year Virgil van Dijk lining up alongside Matthijs de Ligt. Despite that, the Netherlands have only posted three clean sheets in their last 12 games.

The Germans’ defensive record is even worse, with just four clean sheets in the team’s last 18 games, but the team does have a far more inexperienced group at the back, with five defenders having less than eight international caps apiece. However, through three games of Euro qualifying, Germany has conceded just twice.

Pick: Germany and Netherlands to draw