The UEFA Nations League is a weird double edged sword that has left many fans wondering whether or not they actually care as much about international football as they thought they did. Sure, the World Cup and the European Championships are great and all, but the rest of the time it seems like more and more people are gravitating towards the idea that domestic football is the only way to go. We can’t say that we blame them, either, although we are interested in some of the match ups that are set to stem from the Nations League coming into existence.

One such example of that is the Netherlands squaring off against Germany, in a game that we never get tired of seeing. The two European powerhouses have certainly had contrasting levels of success over the course of the last few years, but for whatever reason, they’re always paired together in some kind of weird love/hate relationship. It’s as if they can’t live without one another and even if they go years without competing, there’s still that burning desire and hatred between them that keeps things fresh. That, at its core, is one of the things we all love so much about this game.

The Germans are still reeling from an uneven summer that left many wondering where the Germany of old had gone, whereas the Dutch were left standing out with empty hands wondering what on Earth had happened to them throughout the course of the last few years. It’s an interesting contrast given how these two are rarely able to share all that much that they’ve got in common in the world of football, and as we look ahead to this game, it seems more evident than ever before that they’re both desperate to secure a big result.

As we noted earlier the Nations League may not be the best place for a showdown of this magnitude, but the more we think about it, the more we wonder how much it matters. Even if this was an out and out friendly it still feels like it would have the same kind of intrigue and hype behind it, so why are we all being so picky? As long as we’re all able to get the chance to experience and watch two teams with such a rich heritage, then there shouldn’t be any need to complain about it. We’re including ourselves in that, too.

The Dutch have had a rough time of things as of late, with their spectacular fall from grace baffling many fans given that it was only eight years ago they were competing in the World Cup final. Their last six games stretch all the way back to March courtesy of the fact they had to sit out on the WC this summer, with a loss against England being followed up by a surprisingly encouraging 3-0 win over Portugal. Alas, more inconsistency followed with draws against Slovakia and Italy, with their win against Peru recently being cancelled out by a narrow defeat against world champions France.

The Germans’ recent history is well documented, with their narrow win over Saudi Arabia in June now looking a little bit more like an early red flag. They lost their opener against Mexico in Russia before just about managing to edge past Sweden, but unfortunately, they came undone against South Korea in a 2-0 loss which sent them crashing out of the World Cup. Ironically enough their two games since then have mirrored the Dutch, with games against France (0-0) and Peru (2-1 win). Now, though, is when the serious stuff really begins.

As we’ve noted many times these two nations are extremely familiar with one another, and in terms of the overall head to head rankings, Germany aren’t that far ahead with a slender 15-10 lead – with 15 draws between them as well. Their last meeting came way back in November 2012 when they played out a 0-0 draw, and you’d have to imagine that there’s a reason why they’ve waited so long to initiate the rematch. The bad blood between the countries has been felt both on the pitch and off of it, so we wouldn’t be surprised to see an extra security presence both before and after the game.

Kevin Trapp and Leon Goretzka withdrew from the squad recently for Germany with Marco Reus and Antonio Rudiger also being out through injury, although the bigger story feels like the old being shipped out for the new. Ironically enough many of Germany’s stars from their 2014 World Cup winning campaign aren’t even all that old, but it seems as if there’s a big push from the fans to see some young and hungry players being pushed through to the forefront. We can’t exactly blame them, either, as their performances in Russia certainly didn’t do much to inspire the masses.

Davy Propper is the only real notable absence for Ronald Koeman, who has a big job on his hands when it comes to turning this ship around. The Dutch have been ‘down and out’ so to speak for a few years now, and the lack of quality in their first team is painfully evident. While some will merely suggest it’s the dawning of a new era in which they aren’t all too relevant amongst the world’s elite, they certainly still have the base and pedigree necessary to compete both at the Euros and the World Cup for many decades to come.

The Netherlands vs Germany Betting Prediction

The crowd in Amsterdam are going to be as lively as they’ve been in a long time for an international match – at least, that’s what we hope. Given the current state of the German national team this is probably the perfect time for the Dutch to defeat them for the first time since 2002, but alas, we don’t think they’ll quite get over the line. We do believe, however, that the momentum and the weight of the occasion will lead to them taking the lead, although it’s probably not going to last.

We can picture the Germans slowly and methodically breaking them down as the game goes on, eventually drawing level in the final few minutes. The home side will hold out from that point on, though, ensuring that they’re at least able to come away with something from what will probably be a very, very intense encounter.

So whether you love international football or you hate it, we’d encourage you to find a way to watch this game over the weekend – because in addition to seeing some of the world’s finest compete, we can all but guarantee that things will get a bit lively.

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