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The arch-rivals would be squaring off for the third time in the past six months thanks to UEFA as the Nations League also drew the two together in the same group. The Netherlands emerged supreme with a dominating 3-0 win in their first group game at the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam while the game in Veltins Arena, home to FC Schalke 04, ended in a thrilling 2-2 draw as Koeman’s men scored twice in the last 5 minutes to break the Germans’ hearts.
This would be an ideal opportunity for Low to avenge the misfortunes of 2018 and justify some of his bold decisions with regard to the locker room while on the other hand, the Oranje would be looking to prove that their victories against the big guns weren’t just a one-off and they are really the team to beat. The Netherlands have already kicked-off their Euro 2020 Qualification campaign with a 4-0 win over Belarus while this would be the first game for the Germans.
2018 marked the beginning of a new era for the Netherlands football team as they rose from the ruins to go on and defeat the reigning and previous World Champions France & Germany respectively in a gap of 2 months.
Initial reactions to the UEFA Nations League draw when they were pitted against the French & Germans, suggested that Netherlands may not even finish second in their group of three and on the contrary, they dominated the group stages and went on to qualify for the Semi-Final stage which would be held later in June this year.
On the contrary, the Germans have hardly anything to celebrate in 2018 and to say that, it has been a year to forget will be an understatement. What Joachim Low is going through is definitely something more than ‘just-a-phase’ and one would have to think really hard in order to recollect the last time the ‘Die Manschaaft’ went through such dearth of motivation. With the permanent axing of Jerome Boateng, Mats Hummels & Thomas Muller from the national team, youngsters with high potential and promise have been called up. To be more precise, the squad contains 10 players who are 23 years old or below. So this is a clear sign from the coach himself that there is a need to inject fresh blood into the German national team and the transition is well and truly on.
Form Guide
Netherlands Last 5 fixtures:
Oct 13th 2018: Netherlands 3-0 Germany, UEFA Nations League (Home)
Oct 16th 2018: Belgium 1-1 Netherlands, International Friendly (Away)
Nov 16th 2018: Netherlands 2-0 France, UEFA Nations League (Home)
Nov 19th 2018: Germany 2-2 Netherlands, UEFA Nations League (Away)
Mar 21st 2019: Netherlands 4-0 Belarus, UEFA Euro Qualifiers (Home)
Germany Last 5 fixtures:
Oct 13th 2018: Netherlands 3-0 Germany, UEFA Nations League (Away)
Oct 16th 2018: France 2-1 Germany, UEFA Nations League (Away)
Nov 15th 2018: Germany 3-0 Russia, International Friendly (Home)
Nov 19th 2018: Germany 2-2 Netherlands, UEFA Nations League (Home)
Mar 20th 2019: Germany 1-1 Serbia, International Friendly (Home)
Head-to-Head Record:
Played: 42
Netherlands: 11
Goals Scored by Netherlands: 69
Draw: 16
Germany: 15
Goals Scored by Germany: 79
Venue: Johan Cruyff Arena, Amsterdam
Referee: Jesús Gil Manzano (ESP)
Date: 25th March, Monday
Time: 01:15 IST
Where to watch: Sony Ten Network/ Sony LIV
Key Facts
Germany are yet to win a single official game since their 2018 FIFA World Cup exit. They have won two games since the World Cup and both were friendlies.
Since Ronaldo Koeman took over, The Netherlands have lost only once at home, a 0-1 loss in a friendly game against England. They have won all other games at home.
Since 2018, Germany have played 14 games (including friendlies) and they have managed only 2 cleansheets. Both the cleansheets were at home, the last time they had a cleansheet away from home was a 0-0 draw against England in November 2017.
Virgil Van Dijk scored in both of his games against Germany. He opened the scoring in the 3-0 win at home while he netted the second and equalizing goal in the 2-2 draw away from home.
