James Rowe’s North Macedonia v Netherlands preview: already qualified Oranje to rotate ahead of knockout stage
Our Matchday Squad journalist will be covering the Netherlands throughout Euro 2020
The whole of Amsterdam and the Netherlands congratulated ‘Oranje’ on a job well done against Austria which saw them top Group C with a game to spare. It means they will play their last 16 match in Budapest on Sunday 27th of June.
Once again Denzel Dumfries played a big part by setting the tone and winning the penalty after 11 minutes which was beautifully taken by Memphis Depay, striking low and hard into the corner of the net.
I thought particularly in the early stages of the match Marten De Roon did a good job of marshalling the midfield and breaking up play. He is a very underrated player in my opinion who aided the Netherlands in their 2-0 win.
There is no doubting that home advantage in Amsterdam’s Johan Cruyff Arena has really helped the Netherlands so far this tournament, particularly the 16,000 fans in the stadium getting behind the team at every given opportunity.
The Netherlands play their final group game against North Macedonia and I believe that there will be a real party atmosphere and changes will be made to ensure sufficient rest for certain players and game time for others. There will be no room for complacency as they sign off in Amsterdam and head to Budapest in their quest to win Euro 2020.
North Macedonia have played with heart against Austria and Ukraine and their three danger men in Goran Pandev, Enis Bardhi and Elif Elmas will still look to push and make history by securing their country’s first ever victory at a major tournament. My prediction is a 3-1 win for the Netherlands.
