Netherlands vs Ireland starters: Virgil van Dijk at the back, Milan midfield ace leads, Gakpo charges
At 03:45 a.m. Beijing time on November 19, the 7th round of Group B of the European Championship qualifiers will stage an interesting strong dialogue, and the orange team Netherlands will host the strong Irish team.
After the first 6 rounds of group stage matches, the Dutch team won 4 and lost 2, accumulating 12 points, currently 6 points behind the leader France, temporarily ranking second in the group standings. Ireland, on the other hand, have 2 wins and 5 defeats with just six points and are currently in the penultimate place in the group. In terms of overall strength, the Netherlands has an overwhelming advantage over Ireland.
The data shows that the two teams have met in the last 4 European Championship qualifiers, and the Dutch team has 2 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss, only slightly occupying some psychological advantages. Therefore, against Ireland in this round, Dutch coach Ronald Koeman will not take it lightly and will inevitably play with an elite main lineup as much as possible. Here's a quick prediction of the starting lineup that the Orange are likely to line-up for this game.
In the goalkeeper position, there is no doubt that the main goalkeeper who plays for Brentford in the Premier League will continue to guard the door of the orange team, and at the back, according to Lehmann's employment habits, he should continue to play a more solid back four formation, and the four defenders who are expected to start are Blind, Van Dijk, De Vrij and Dumfries. Virgil van Dijk and De Vrij will play in a two-man centre-back pairing, while Blind and Dumfries will play as wing-backs on the left and right.
In terms of midfield, it is not surprising that the main midfielder responsible for interceptions and tackles in the central midfield of the Dutch team will be the veteran midfielder De Jong who plays for Atalanta in Serie A, and the Dutch midfield talent will be the Dutch midfield talent Weifeld who will partner De Jong to form the Dutch double midfield combination. In front of the double midfield, AC Milan midfielder Reinders is expected to sit in front of the team, responsible for attacking organization and combing, and dominate the Dutch team's attacking line.
On the forward line, it should be Liverpool's ace striker Gakpo who charges for the Dutch team in the frontcourt, and it should be Bergwijn and Malen who partner Gakpo to form a front trident combination. Weghorst will remain on the bench.
To sum up, the final 11 expected starters of the Dutch team against Ireland are: Flecon, Blind, Van Dijk, De Vrij, Dumfries, De Jong, Weifel, Reinders, Gakpo, Berwijn, Malen