Our prediction for this match:
All eyes will be on Johan Cruijff Arena when Netherlands and Denmark face each other in a highly-anticipated international friendly. The Oranje secured their spot at the 2022 World Cup finals thanks to a 2-0 win over Norway, but their displays in Group G were anything but brilliant. Jordy Clasie is back in the Netherlands squad, with Memphis Depay, Luuk De Jong, Arnaut Danjuma, and Frankie de Jong making the cut as well.
As always, a man to watch in the home team will be Liverpool centre-back Virgil van Dijk. The Danes, on the other hand, welcome Christian Eriksen back to the squad. The Brentford midfielder has recovered from a cardiac arrest, but he is likely to start from the bench. Anyhow, we are tempted to put our money on the Oranje, who have turned their Johan Cruijff Arena into a real fortress.
Highlighted Player (Memphis Depay):
Memphis Depay is a Dutch winger who started his professional career at PSV Eindhoven. During the 2014/2015 Eredivisie campaign the pacey footballer was on Manchester United’s radar and on June 12, 2015 the Premier League club confirmed the signing of the Dutchman. Many people expected that he would impress in the 2015/2016 Premier League season, but the former PSV ace played below expectations for the Red Devils, scoring only two goals (one assist) during the season.
After playing only for league games for Man Utd in the 2016/2017 season, Memphis Depay was sold to Olympique Lyon on January 20, 2017. Depay signed a four-and-a-half year deal with les Gones for a fee of around £16 million. The Dutch winger was producing fine performances for Lyon in the 2016/2017 season; he scored five goals for the club, while providing eight assists for his teammates.
Memphis Depay made his senior debut for Netherlands on October 15, 2013 in a 2-0 win over Turkey. Depay did well to win the 2011 European Championship with Netherlands U17 team.
Highlighted Team (Denmark):
The Denmark national team participated at the World Cup finals on four occasions and they recorded their best result at the 1998 tournament. The Danes made it to the quarter-finals of the 1998 World Cup in France, but Brazil proved to be a big catch for the Nordic side. De Rod-Hvide did remarkably well to win the 1992 European Championship, but they were more than fortunate to qualify for the Euro 1992 finals.
Denmark finished their qualifying campaign in second place in the group, but thanks to Yugoslavia’s exclusion from the competition, the team booked their place at the Euro 1992 finals. Denmark impressed at the tournament in Sweden, with the team outplaying Germany in the title game (2-0).
Brothers Michael and Bryan Laudrup and goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel are regarded as Denmark’s most notable players. It has to be noted that Morten Olsen was in charge of the Danish national team from 2000 to 2015. The Danes play their home games at Telia Parken and the capacity of the venue is 38,065 (all-seater).