When is it on?
The Republic of Ireland will play the Netherlands at the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam on Saturday, November 18th at 7.45pm (8.45pm local time) in Euro 2024 qualifying Group B.
How can I watch it?
You can watch the game on RTÉ2, coverage kicks off from 7pm.
What is the team news for the game?
Not for the first time this year in qualifying, star striker Evan Ferguson emerged as an injury concern but thankfully the teenager has been passed fit by manager Stephen Kenny.
He had not been included in Brighton’s squad for Sunday’s draw with Sheffield United due to a back injury. The news was not so good for high-flying winger Chiedozie Ogbene though, who has been ruled out with an ankle injury.
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Kenny has called up James McClean for the Euro 2024 qualifier against the Netherlands. The Derry man had been set to come into the squad for the New Zealand friendly anyway, his final appearance in a green shirt, but he had not been in the squad to Amsterdam for the qualifier. Festy Ebosele and Will Smallbone will not travel with the squad due to injury and have been ruled out of both matches in this window. Blackburn Rovers midfielder Andy Moran has also been promoted from the under-21s as a replacement for Smallbone, and could make his debut.
For the Dutch, Manchester City defender Nathan Aké has pulled out of the Netherlands squad due to injury. Aké is the latest defender to join the Dutch injury list, with Sven Botman, Matthijs de Ligt, Jurrien Timber and Micky van de Ven also absent for the run-in as they look to secure a place at next year’s finals in Germany.
What is the state of play in the group?
It’s not good from an Irish perspective. Ireland have won only two games, both against Gibraltar, and have lost each of the other five against France, Greece and Netherlands. They are distant fourth in the group and with one game remaining, their position will not change no matter what the result.
The game is not massively consequential for Netherlands either, as they sealed a crucial stoppage time victory over Greece last month to put them level on points with a game in hand, but crucially if it is a tiebreaker they have a superior head-to-head record. If the Dutch lose to Ireland, they will get another chance to finish second behind France and gain automatic qualification in the almost foregone conclusion fixture against Gibraltar, but against Ireland they will still want to clinch their spot in Germany next summer.
Greece are guaranteed a playoff spot due to their Nations League ranking, whereas Ireland are not and cannot qualify through that route.
How is the Netherlands team looking?
As mentioned in the team news, not at their best with four defenders missing who would be in contention to start, but they still have Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk to count on. The injuries also extend to the rest of the team, world-class midfielder Frenkie De Jong is injured, as is Ryan Gravenberch and forward Memphis Depay. Thus, if you were going to play the Netherlands at any time, this is hardly the worst. They will still have some fine players on the pitch in Amsterdam like wing-back Denzel Dumfries, young creative midfield star Xavi Simons and Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo.
Do Ireland have any shot of winning?
Unlike the last time they played Netherlands, Ireland will have Ferguson fit to play, which should hopefully make a difference for their chances. Ferguson has scored three goals in eight games for Ireland so far, and scored a hat-trick against Newcastle in the Premier League earlier this year. Ultimately, though, you would have to make Ireland serious outsiders as they simply have not had the results in the past year to justify any optimism to beat a skilled opponent away from home.
