Requiring just one more victory to book a table at Euro 2024 with two games to spare, France trek to Amsterdam to face fellow Group B hopefuls Netherlands on Friday evening.
Les Bleus have blown the competition out of the water so far, taking 15 points from a possible 15, while Oranje sit six points worse off than their upcoming opponents, albeit with a game in hand.
Match preview
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Owing to their failed venture in the Nations League finals - where losses to Croatia and Italy made it four defeats from five for Ronald Koeman's beleaguered troops - the Netherlands have played one game fewer than their Euro 2024 qualifying Group B rivals heading into October's internationals.
Failing to make it onto the podium in the Nations League galvanised Oranje for a return to qualification duty last month, though, as the Netherlands reignited their bid for a top-two finish by claiming back-to-back wins over Greece and the Republic of Ireland, scoring five goals and conceding just once in the process.
After putting three past Greece without reply, Koeman's men recovered from an early setback against the Irish, who broke the deadlock five minutes in through an Adam Idah penalty before Cody Gakpo's own 12-yard conversion and Wout Weghorst's second-half strike turned the tie around.
The second-placed Dutch cannot seal an automatic qualification spot no matter what transpires on Friday, but victories over France and Greece - whom they tackle next Monday - would be sufficient if Ireland can take at least a point away from their upcoming clash with the latter.
While the Netherlands' Euro 2024 qualifying home fixtures have taken place at a variety of grounds - from De Kuip and the Philips Stadion to the Johan Cruyff Arena - Oranje have triumphed in each of their last four qualification fixtures on familiar soil, scoring at least three goals each time.
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Prior to suffering an inconsequential friendly defeat to next year's host nation Germany, France continued their unblemished start to qualifying Group B - and indeed their impeccable defensive record - by putting two goals past the Republic of Ireland without reply.
Aurelien Tchouameni's thunderbolt and Marcus Thuram's first goal for his country put Didier Deschamps's side on the brink of a place at the 2024 Finals, which they will rubber-stamp with a sixth win from six in Amsterdam this week, although even three points will not be required if they draw and Greece lose to Ireland.
The Boys in Green may be loath to do Les Bleus any favours given their September beating - something that France experienced in a 2-1 loss to Germany five days after seeing off the Irish, as Thomas Muller and Leroy Sane began the post-Hansi Flick era in perfect fashion.
Defeat to Die Mannschaft marked France's first loss since December's unforgettable World Cup final, but they are one of only two teams yet to concede in Euro 2024 qualifying - the other being Portugal - and are unbeaten in 12 games at this stage since a 2-0 loss to Turkey in June 2019.
The Netherlands and France kicked off their Euro 2024 qualifying campaigns against one another in March, but it was a joyless affair for the Dutch as they were thumped 4-0 by Les Bleus, who have six wins to show from their last seven meetings with Oranje during a prolonged period of international supremacy.
Team News
.JPG?w=640&h=480&auto=compress,format&fit=clip "Liverpool's Cody Gakpo receives medical attention after sustaining an injury on September 30, 2023")
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On the back of a viral outbreak which preceded March's 4-0 hiding, Netherlands boss Koeman is now dealing with an injury crisis for October's games, as all of Gakpo, Jurrien Timber, Sven Botman, Matthijs de Ligt, Frenkie de Jong, Mark Flekken, Memphis Depay, Noa Lang, Teun Koopmeiners, Tyrell Malacia or Steven Berghuis are out of contention.
As such, the hosts' squad is looking particularly light in attack, where eight-goal Steven Bergwijn represents Oranje's highest scorer for this round of fixtures, but Denzel Dumfries - who sat out March's loss to France through suspension - is eligible to bomb down the right flank.
Thanks to his brilliant start to life in a Tottenham Hotspur jersey, the uncapped Micky van de Ven is a prime candidate to beef up a depleted Dutch defence, while Daley Blind can draw level with Dirk Kuyt on 104 caps for the national team.
Similarly, France boss Deschamps is working around a ravaged set of defensive options, as Wesley Fofana, Presnel Kimpembe, William Saliba, Dayot Upamecano, Jules Kounde and Axel Disasi - who pulled out only a few hours after his call-up - are all in the infirmary.
Uncapped duo Malo Gusto and Castello Lukeba have reinforced the ranks, as have the returning Ibrahima Konate and Jonathan Clauss - both of whom missed September's fixtures - while Mike Maignan should retain possession of the gloves despite some unforeseen Olivier Giroud goalkeeping heroics in AC Milan's recent win over Genoa.
Giroud should be joined by the regular supporting cast in Ousmane Dembele and Kylian Mbappe, even though neither man has covered themselves in glory with Paris Saint-Germain recently; the latter has failed to score in any of his last four matches.
Netherlands possible starting lineup:
Verbruggen; De Vrij, Van Dijk, Ake; Dumfries, De Roon, Veerman, Blind; Simons, Weghorst, Malen
France possible starting lineup:
Maignan; Pavard, Konate, L. Hernandez, T. Hernandez; Tchouameni, Rabiot; Dembele, Griezmann, Mbappe; Giroud
We say: Netherlands 0-2 France
Even with untimely defensive concerns rearing their ugly heads, France have kept every single one of their Group B foes at bay so far and should be backed to do so again versus a noticeably thin Netherlands squad.
With the chance to seal qualification with two games to spare also serving as an added incentive, Les Bleus ought to silence the Amsterdam faithful and snap Oranje's golden streak at home to ensure a place in Germany next summer.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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