Euro 2024: Berlin Will See Red and Orange

Netherlands vs Austria

Group D has emerged as one of the most competitive clusters in Euro 2024. Aside from Poland’s recent blunders, France, Austria, and the Netherlands are neck-and-neck going into the last matchday of the group stages and will be fighting tooth and nail to secure their spot in the knockouts.

Coming into Matchday 3, Oranje need only a point to reach the knockouts, while Austria must secure a win to ensure a top-two finish. Neither side plans to park the bus when they clash at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, so the football world should prepare for what will be a cinematic match between the Netherlands and Austria.

Talking Points

Oranje are starting to ramp up

After a tepid draw in Oranje’s opening match against France, Koeman and his outfit kept their heads down and garnered their first win of the group stages at the expense of Poland.

With three points in the back of their pockets, Oranje sit pretty atop their group standings, besting crowd favourite France due to goal difference. Moreover, Oranje only need one more point to secure their spot in the knockouts, given, of course, that France won’t fumble against the already-eliminated Poland. Now, the only thing that would cement Oranje’s Group D dominance is a win against Austria in Berlin.

Since the 2014 World Cup, the Netherlands have yet to concede a group stage match in major tournaments, winning nine of their 11 such matches. France were closest to rival Oranje, keeping them scoreless for the first time since 2014.

Despite their lukewarm start in this edition of the European Championship, this SBOTOP writer thinks that the Netherlands will continue to feature in the knockout stages, something they’ve been able to do for the eighth time in their last nine Euros appearances.

Aside from Ajax star Brian Brobbey’s injury-related setback, Koeman should have no underlying issues with his roster against Austria. This club might not be on everyone’s list as the favourites, but they sure make an intriguing dark horse if they continue to garner winning Euro 2024 results.

Can Austria break their losing streak when it matters?

With one win and one loss in the tournament so far, Austria need to win against the Netherlands to ensure a top-two finish and secure their spot in the knockouts. It won’t be a walk in the park for Ralf Rangnick’s outfit, as Austria have lost their last seven matches against the Netherlands, the team’s longest current run of losses against a single adversary.

In addition, Austria will need to reassess itself after suffering a dramatic loss against France during Matchday 2 as they march to Berlin to face Oranje.

To Austrai’s defence, they were poised to claim an upset against the French outfit, only to be scourged by an own goal from Maximilian Wöber. Despite this loss, Rangnick’s Austria still pose as one of the toughest teams in the tournament, with their surgical tactics and ability to maintain composure.

Austria’s potential was on full display during their tournament opener, when they annihilated Poland with a 3-1 scoreline to propel themselves to the top of the Group D standings after Matchday 1.

All in all, both teams are well-equipped and very capable of competing against any adversary in the Euros, so fans should expect an impressive outing from both sides at the Olympiastadion.

History

The Netherlands have won seven straight games and have bossed their head-to-head matchups against Austria. Oranje have been untouchable when facing Austria since 1992, and Koeman’s squad intends to keep it that way.

During their most recent match, the Netherlands garnered a 2-0 clean sheet victory over the Austrians in the 2020 edition of the Euros.

Both squads have been solid competitors in recent times. In the ongoing Euros, both Oranje and Austria have defeated Poland convincingly and given European giants France a run for their money.

Betting Tip

The Euro 2024 betting odds have the Netherlands as the slight favourites at 2.33, while the Austrians are the 3.04 underdogs with a 3.17 draw price.

Historically speaking, the Netherlands are the clear choice to emerge as the victors in their upcoming clash against Austria. However, this is an entirely different Oranje squad with new but talented faces to boast of.

Yes, Oranje need only a draw to advance to the knockouts, but having them at 2.33 to win offers great value and excitement for punters.

Both teams have the capacity to fill up the score sheet, which is why another great line to keep an eye on is their total goals over 2.50 at 1.95. Austria and the Netherlands lit up offensively during their respective matches against Poland, proving they have the attacking prowess to find the back of the net in bunches.

 

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