After a period of sinking deeper into crisis, the Orange tornado has been making remarkable progress recently. The Netherlands tops Group 1, League A of the UEFA Nations League, surpassing both of the most recent world champions, Germany and France to win tickets to the semi-finals of the tournament taking place in Portugal next summer.
Coach Ronald Koeman is helping the Netherlands regain their original position. The changes in the team are inspired by young stars. Only one member was called up to the national team by coach Koeman over the age of 30. Meanwhile, their starting lineup is expected to stop at around 25.
New stars like De Ligt and De Jong, although still very young, are very experienced when they often have official positions at clubs and the national team. De Jong is already a Barcelona man, De Ligt's move to a top club is just a matter of time as he is a hot target for every team.
The Netherlands is currently the owner of a 4-match unbeaten streak, including 2 resounding victories over Germany and France in the Nations League arena. In the most recent friendly match, the Orange Volcado also successfully held Belgium to a 1-1 draw. Thus, out of the total 10 matches that have passed, the Netherlands has only stumbled twice. Moreover, at home, the Netherlands have won all 4/5 of their most recent matches.
Like the Netherlands, Belarus has shown impressive form in the UEFA Nations League group stage. They top Group 2 in League D with an unbeaten record and have created a gap of up to 4 points over the second-placed team. But in reality, their opponents are very low. It is difficult for Belarus to stop the Netherlands when the Orange tornado has returned.
Expected lineup
Netherlands: Cillessen, Daley Blind, Van Dijk, de Light, Tete, de Roon, Frenkie de Jong, Ryan Babel, Wijnaldum, Promes, Depay.
Belarus: Chernik, Martynovich, Politsevich, Polyakov, Shitov, Dragun, Martynovich, Stasevich, Maevski, Alexander Hleb, Savitskiy, Saroka.
Score prediction: 2-0
