Netherlands vs France EURO 2024 Group D Matchday 2 preview: Where to watch, kick-off time, possible line-ups

Netherlands and France meet in their second matches of UEFA EURO 2024 in Group D on Friday 21 June.

Where to watch Netherlands vs France on TV

Fans can find their local UEFA EURO 2024 broadcast partner(s) here. 

What do you need to know?

France come into this battle of the Group D titans with recent history very much in their favour; they have won seven of the teams' last eight encounters, including both of their meetings in qualifying. Given the injury problems that beset Ronald Koeman's men during the European Qualifiers, the Oranje had some excuse. They have had similar issues to contend with here in Germany, midfielders Frenkie de Jong and Teun Koopmeiners both withdrawn from the squad on the eve of the finals.

However, they still made a positive start, overcoming a Robert Lewandowski-less Poland 2-1 in their opener, a game in which they might well have scored more. France, meanwhile, have concerns over Kylian Mbappé, who suffered a broken nose in their 1-0 win against Austria. A notable positive in that contest was N'Golo Kanté, the midfield factotum earning plaudits and a Player of the Match trophy for his efforts. The Netherlands have great players up front, yet the challenge may be ensuring that they see enough of the ball to create chances.

Possible line-ups

Netherlands: Verbruggen; Dumfries, De Vrij, Van Dijk, Aké; Reijnders, Schouten, Veerman; Simons, Depay, Gakpo

France: Maignan; Koundé, Saliba, Upamecano, Hernández; Dembélé, Kanté, Tchouaméni, Rabiot; Griezmann, Thuram

Form guide

Netherlands:
Form (all competitions, most recent first): WWWLWW

France:
Form (all competitions, most recent first): WDWWLD

Expert predictions

Derek Brookman, Netherlands reporter

The Oranje created plenty of chances against Poland but ultimately needed the late intervention of substitute Wout Weghorst to take all three points. Still, Ronald Koeman is unlikely to tinker with his starting line-up for this crunch contest with the French. There is strength-in-depth in this Netherlands squad – the entire front three were replaced during Sunday's match – so there is certainly scope for adjustments should things not go to plan against the World Cup runners-up.

Alex Clementson, France reporter

Fresh from a hard-fought win against an astute Austrian team, the French face familiar foes in the Dutch, but the omens are positive; Les Bleus have beaten the Netherlands on seven occasions under Didier Deschamps' stewardship, meaning more wins against the Oranje than against any other side during his tenure. There is one huge caveat, however: Kylian Mbappé's likely absence. The skipper and talisman would leave a huge void, albeit there's a sufficient abundance of attacking talent in the French ranks to pose Ronald Koeman's team plenty of problems.

What the coaches say

Ronald Koeman, Netherlands coach: "If you win the first match, it brings calm and trust. And we will need all that against a strong France side, who we have played a lot in recent years. We know what to expect. We will have to be very good to get the result we want. In the first match, there were a lot of good things, and there were also a number of moments when we should have done better. We have to play with courage. That will be the key. We have to take initiative."

Didier Deschamps, France coach: "[When we beat the Netherlands in qualifying, they] were missing five or six key players. It's not the same team, and that has been proved by the results they've been able to get since. It will be a much stronger team than the one we faced in qualifying. We achieved our objective of winning the first game, but now, as is also the case for the Dutch, the next target is winning this game and qualifying. It's about ensuring we perform as well as we can and being the as dangerous as we can be for the opposition."