Good evening! Thank you very much for joining
Sports Mole for tonight's international friendly between Netherlands and England!
There are plenty of questions still to answer for England in the three months which remain until the beginning of their World Cup campaign, so while the result will be of little consequence tonight, it remains an important contest for the visitors. Netherlands will also see this as a big game as they look to rebuild after the disappointment of missing out on the World Cup, with Ronald Koeman taking charge of his first game at the helm this evening.
We will have a closer look at both a little later, but first let's check out the team news...
ENGLAND STARTING XI: Pickford; Walker, Stones, Gomez; Trippier, Henderson, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Rose; Lingard, Sterling, Rashford
ENGLAND SUBS: Hart, Dier, Mawson, Maguire, Tarkowski, Livermore, Young, Cook, Alli, Vardy, Butland, Pope, Welbeck, Lallana
NETHERLANDS STARTING XI: Zoet; De Ligt, De Vrij, Van Dijk; Hateboer, Wijnaldum, Strootman, Van Aanholt; Promes, Dost, Memphis
What can we make of those two teams, then?
Well, we'll start with the visitors and, while we expected a certain amount of experimentation from Gareth Southgate tonight, his team selection is certainly unexpected. It is quite a bizarre choice as both Trippier and Walker start, in addition to Rose on the opposite flank.
Three full-backs and only two centre-backs in what we expect to be a 3-4-3 formation. It will be interesting to see how that works out!
It is an inexperienced squad at Southgate's disposal for this match and Tuesday's meeting with Italy, and Joe Hart - who as promised only makes the bench this evening - is the only player to have made more than 36 appearances for his country before tonight in the entire squad.
That goalkeeper's jersey could be between as many as five players in these final months before the World Cup, with four currently in the squad and Tom Heaton coming back to fitness. Jordan Pickford gets the nod tonight, but he knows that he will have to be at his very best at every available opportunity to earn the spot on a regular basis.
It looks as though Kyle Walker rather than Trippier is the more likely candidate to play in a three alongside Stones and Joe Gomez in defence, the latter of whom is only just returning to full fitness but gets a start nonetheless.
Gomes has actually played as a full-back for the majority of this season too, so Stones is the only member of this starting XI who has regular experience of playing at the heart of the defence this season - and even he cannot get into the Man City team on a regular basis at the moment.
Liverpool duo Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Jordan Henderson are selected in the middle of the park, with the latter claiming the armband tonight. Henderson is often criticised for not being creative enough, but he has registered four assists during the Southgate era so far, which is twice as many as any other player.
Jack Wilshere has stayed at home after picking up a knee injury, which hands a chance to Oxlade-Chamberlain in his preferred central midfield role, although he hasn't often featured in a 3-4-3 system with Liverpool this season.
With Harry Kane missing through injury it is down to Marcus Rashford to lead the line for England tonight, with the Manchester United man having been chosen ahead of Jamie Vardy, who only makes the bench.
Either side of him are Lingard and Sterling, who will need to help shoulder the goalscoring burden considering that Danny Welbeck (15) and Ashley Young (7) - both of whom are on the bench - are the highest England scorers in the current squad.
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It's not exactly a vintage England team, then, and Netherlands will fancy their chances of getting the Koeman era off to a positive start. Koeman has chosen Bas Dost to lead the line for tonight's match, and his aerial ability could well cause problems for that makeshift England back three.
Arguably the main goal threat will come from Memphis Depay, though, with the former Manchester United forward having scored 13 goals in 43 appearances for Lyon this season and eight overall for Netherlands, making him the joint-highest scorer in the squad alongside Wijnaldum.
Wijnaldum does also start tonight and will come up against his Liverpool teammates Henderson and Oxlade-Chamberlain in the middle of the park, while another Red will captain the team further back, with Virgil van Dijk selected as the team's new skipper.
The hosts have also gone with a back three this evening as Van Dijk is joined by Liverpool target Stefan de Vrij and De Ligt, with debutant Hans Hateboer and Palace's Van Aanholt deployed as the wing-backs.
This is very much a transitional phase for the Netherlands and they must begin to come to terms with life in the post-Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben era now, after both retired from international duty recently.
The likes of Robin van Persie, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Daley Blind are also absent from the latest squad, meaning that the most-capped player in the current setup is former Liverpool man Ryan Babel.
The job for Ronald Koeman is a clear one, but not an easy one. The former Everton and Southampton boss is charged with restoring Netherlands to their former glories following a dramatic fall from grace over recent years.
It was less than four years ago that Netherlands finished fourth at the World Cup in Brazil - humiliating Spain along the way in the group stages - but since then they have failed to qualify for two major tournaments in a row - the first time that has happened since 1982-86.
This year will be the first time Netherlands have been absent from a World Cup since 2002 - and only the second since 1986 - which is particularly notable considering they reached the final in 2010 as well as that third-placed finish in 2014.
The qualifying campaign saw them drawn up against France and Sweden in Group A, and they eventually missed out to the Swedes on goal difference. The Dutch went into their final game against Sweden needing a seven-goal victory to qualify, but they only managed a 2-0 triumph.
That failure to reach Russia came off the back of missing out on Euro 2016 too, which was particularly surprising and disappointing considering those Euros had more qualifying positions than ever before.
Not since the 1980s slump after their Johan Cruyff-inspired success of the 1970s have Netherlands been on such a poor run, and the rebuilding job must now begin for Koeman.
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In fairness to the Netherlands, they did start to show signs of recovery following the appointment of Dick Advocaat for a third spell in charge of the team at the end of their qualifying campaign, even if the former Sunderland boss was ultimately unable to steer them into the tournament.
Advocaat won six of his seven games in charge of the team before stepping down after November's friendlies, which saw him become the most successful Netherlands boss of all time in terms of wins, with his 37th as boss overtaking a 77-year-old record.
Koeman has long felt like a Netherlands boss in the making himself, and he takes over a team who have won their last five matches across all competitions, despite the doom and gloom which surrounds the team at the moment.
Another victory tonight would make it six on the bounce for the first time since their run to the World Cup semi-finals in four years ago, which would be a clear sign of them heralding in the return to good times.
Netherlands also come into this match having seemingly put things right on home soil following a dismal run of form in front of their own fans by any standards, yet alone for a nation of their footballing calibre.
The Dutch went through a spell of seven defeats and just one win in nine consecutive home games prior to the latest upturn in form, which has seen them win each of their last four, scoring 15 goals and conceding just once in the process.
Holland have also won each of their last four friendlies - keeping clean sheets in their last three - and have not lost a friendly for almost a year now, although the upcoming double-header against England tonight and then Portugal on Monday will test that.
The Dutch also have friendlies scheduled against fellow World Cup absentees Slovakia and Italy later this year before getting their UEFA Nations League campaign underway, which has seen them drawn against the mighty duo of France and Germany.
It looks like being a difficult 2018 for Netherlands in terms of their fixtures, then, but England fans will be hoping that their year isn't ruined by another dismal showing at a major tournament - as it has been in 2016 and 2014.
We're not too far away from being two years on from the infamous Iceland defeat in France, but the scars are still there for the fans and the players, and the only way to truly banish those demons is to redeem themselves at another major tournament. Very few people will be optimistic of England going too far this summer, but they will at least be hoping that they do themselves justice.
It is not just Euro 2016 which England will be looking to redeem themselves for, though, and ignoring for one second (if you can) the full 52 years of hurt since 1966, the 2014 World Cup in Brazil was particularly disappointing for the Three Lions.
In fairness to Roy Hodgson's side, they were drawn in a very difficult group on that occasion, but they were still eliminated in the group stages for the first time since 1958, failing to win a single game along the way.
The group-stage draw has been a lot kinder this time around, and England will be expected to vie for top spot with Belgium ahead of Panama and Tunisia, but hopes of progressing deep into the competition may be as reserved as we have seen in a long time for England.
Southgate's side made minimum fuss in qualifying for the tournament, but their performance throughout that campaign were far from convincing and, while the results have been credible, Southgate's England are yet to really entertain at all so far.
The stats from qualifying look good enough. England finished top of Group F comfortably, being one of only four teams - alongside the much-fancied trio of Germany, Spain and Belgium - to go through the campaign unbeaten and also conceding a joint-low three goals in the process.
However, when you dig a little deeper, the real difference between that group of teams is clearer. England won only four of their 10 matches by more than a one-goal margin, whereas Belgium and Spain both won seven, Portugal won eight and Germany won nine.
Southgate's England were perhaps best summed up by their back-to-back goalless draws against Germany and Brazil at Wembley last November. Both of those were decent results against two of the world's best teams, but the fans were forced to create their own entertainment as there was very little to watch on the pitch.
It was the same towards the end of the qualifying campaign in particular, which is why most fans will not be getting carried away by England's ongoing six-match unbeaten streak.
England have not recorded three consecutive 0-0 draws since November 1989, and the last time they failed to win three games in a row was during their group-stage exit at the 2014 World Cup, so they won't want to emulate either of those runs today.
On the flip side, England's lack of entertaining matches does mean that their defensive record is good, and another clean sheet tonight would give them five on the bounce for the first time since 2006.
England have made a point of arranging these prestige friendlies in recent years, but they are yet to win one under Southgate, with three draws and two defeats from his five non-competitive matches at the helm - England last failed to win six in a row in April 1988.
Italy are next up after this for England, meaning that the first two games of World Cup year for the Three Lions will come against the two most high-profile teams to be missing the tournament this summer.
PREDICTION: Right, we're 10 minutes away from kickoff at the Amsterdam ArenA, which means that it is time for a prediction!
This is a tough one to call as neither side are at full strength, and both are still in an uncertain phase where they are looking for their best setup. The England XI looks like a little too lopsided to have a real impact, though, so I am going to go for a 2-1 home win.
SPORTS MOLE SAYS: Netherlands 2-1 England
The Dutch have been something of a bogey team for England down the years, with the Three Lions having failed to win any of their last seven meetings, stretching back to that famous 4-1 win at Euro 1996.
Netherlands have drawn four and won three of the seven since then, including both of the last two - most recently coming from behind to win 2-1 at Wembley in March 2016.
Indeed, England's struggles against Netherlands stretch even further back that Euro '96, picking up just one win in their last 13 editions of this fixture, losing five and drawn seven in that time.
One of those draws came on England's most recent visit to these shores, with Jermain Defoe's second-half double cancelling out goals from Dirk Kuyt and Rafael van der Vaart as England came from two goals down to draw in August 2009.
Despite England's overall poor record against Netherlands, their away record is actually quite good, with only one defeat in their last seven visits to these shores, winning two and drawing four.
Incidentally, that solitary defeat came under Graham Taylor in October 1993, when new Netherlands boss Ronald Koeman scored the opening goal via a free kick.
Right, the players are on their way out and we're almost ready to get started here! A reminder of the team news before we do get underway...
NETHERLANDS STARTING XI: Zoet' De Ligt, De Vrij, Van Dijk; Hateboer, Wijnaldum, Strootman, Van Aanholt; Promes, Dost, Memphis
ENGLAND STARTING XI: Pickford; Walker, Stones, Gomez; Trippier, Henderson, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Rose; Lingard, Sterling, Rashford
The Dutch are putting on quite the pre-match show, and the national anthems don't disappoint either. It sounds like there are a lot of England supporters in attendance!
KICKOFF: Here we go, then! England get us underway in Amsterdam!
Rose is in the wars after only a few seconds of the match, being clattered by Hateboer. He stays down and needs to go through the concussion protocols, but it looks as though he will be able to continue.
England have made a fairly bright start to this match. They have enjoyed the lion's share of possession and territory in the opening exchanges, with the hosts yet to really settle into the game.
Gomez is the man down and needing treatment for England now having been carrying an ankle injury for the past couple of minutes. The Liverpool man looks in some pain here.
SAVE! The first save of the night comes from Zoet, but it is a fairly routine one. Oxlade-Chamberlain gets plenty behind his shot, but it is straight at the keeper, who does well to hold on to it.
UPDATE: Arguably the pick of the matches tonight sees Germany take on Spain in a battle of the last two World Cup winners, and Spain have taken the lead early in that match with Rodrigo opening the scoring.
ENGLAND SUB: Gomez is unable to continue here as England are forced into an early change, with Harry Maguire coming on.
Sterling tries to slip a pass through for Rashford, who hopes of getting to it are helped by a Zoet slip, but there is still just too much on the ball and the keeper collects.
Dangerous play from Trippier as he tries to play the ball right across defence for Maguire, who is sent running back into his own corner. The sub deals with it well, but he wasn't put in a very good position there.
England get down the left well as Walker pings a beauty of a pass over for Rose, but the left-back's subsequent cross is poor and the chance goes begging.
UPDATE: Alex McLeish's second Scotland reign has got off to a poor start with his side conceding at home to Costa Rica's Marcos Urena.
CHANCE! Good work from Sterling as he steals the ball high up the field and darts down the left channel before cutting inside and teeing up Lingard. The United man takes a shot from the edge of the box, but he drags it wide of the target. It did take a deflection off Van Dijk on the way through, but the ref points for a goal kick.
Not much to shout about in an attacking sense from this opening 20 minutes or so, but England have looked the more likely to score. Pickford is yet to be tested at all, whereas England have had a couple of sights of goal, if not any clear chances.
SAVE! Pickford does have his first save to make here as De Ligt picks off a pass, strides forward and tries his luck from range. His low strike is on target, but it is comfortable for Pickford.
England try to up the tempo at the end of a patient passing move which ends in a corner, but in general it is a bit too slow from the visitors so far. There is so much pace in this team, but England need to start using it.
Netherlands come forward well, but their sweeping move is ended by an Oxlade-Chamberlain challenge. It is an important toe, but that almost takes the ball through to Promes, only for England to clean up the danger.
CHANCE! Chance for the hosts as a cross from the left finds its way through to Promes, who for a moment looks like he only has the keeper to beat. His touch allows Rose to get in between him and the ball, though, and Pickford then comes out to smother the ball bravely.
Another patient passing move from England then sees them up the tempo as they approach the final third, but this time the move ends with an overhit cross from Trippier.
CHANCE! Half a chance for England from a corner as Rose's delivery finds Maguire in a bit of space, but his downward header into a dangerous area is hacked away.
UPDATE: Chelsea's Olivier Giroud has broken the deadlock for France in their friendly with Colombia.
CLOSE! This is the closest we have come to a goal so far! Trippier's delivery from the left is flicked on by Henderson, but his header skims just past the far post and Rashford cannot get a foot on it as it races past.
Sharp defending from De Ligt as he steps in to clear the danger after Sterling had taken the ball down on his chest inside the area. This is a good spell for England now.
The hosts respond with a good spell of possession themselves, slowing the momentum England were just starting to build.
UPDATE: Germany have levelled things up against Spain in Dusseldorf, with Thomas Muller getting the goal for the world champions.
Brilliant goalkeeping from Zoet here! It looks as though England might be in behind as a ball over the defence appears to have released Sterling - who with his pace would have been clear. Zoet reads that, though, and comes a long way out of his area to make a really good sliding challenge. He had to get that right!
Goals - and chances - have once again been in short supply so far tonight, but
Gareth Southgate will be relatively satisfied by what he has seen from his side so far. They have seen more of the ball and have been the better team, but they just need a goal to reflect that now.
CHANCE! As I say that, Netherlands have their first real chance of the evening as Bas Dost gets on the end of a corner. Pickford had come off his line and was left in no-man's land, but the ball was just too high for Dost and he nods it over.
UPDATE: France have now doubled their lead against Colombia, with Thomas Lemar joining Giroud on the scoresheet in Paris.
Rashford tries to break clear all by himself and carries the ball a long way, but he is short of support and is eventually crowded out.
There will be three minutes of stoppage time at the end of this first half.
SAVE! England almost shoot themselves in the foot right at the end of the half as they gift possession away inside their own half, but Depay's subsequent effort is easy for Pickford to gather.
HALF TIME: Netherlands 0-0 England
The referee blows for an end to the first half at the Amsterdam ArenA, and in truth it has not been a thriller so far.
We remain goalless between Netherlands and England, with clear chances also at a premium at both ends of the field. England have been the better side and have enjoyed the lion's share of possession so far, but there haven't been any really gilt-edged chances.
Harry Maguire - who came on as a 10th-minute sub for the injured Gomez - has arguably had the best of England's chances when he was left in a bit of space from a corner, but his downward header into a dangerous area was hacked away before it could test the keeper.
The closest England have come to a goal came via captain Jordan Henderson, who flicked his header on from a free kick and sent the ball flashing just past the far post.
Lingard and Oxlade-Chamberlain have also had sights of goal from outside the area, but for all of England's territory and possession they haven't threatened as much as they should have in the final third.
That said, the visitors have looked more like scoring than Netherlands, who have been rather toothless in their first game under Ronald Koeman. Pickford has been forced into a couple of saves, but both have been routine.
The hosts' best chance came through Bas Dost when he got on the end of a corner, but couldn't get over the bar and subsequently sent his header well over.
Often in these matches substitutes can hinder the rhythm of the game, but this one might actually need something from the bench to inject some life into it. England, with all the pace they have at their disposal, should be more exciting to watch than this.
KICKOFF: Netherlands get the second half underway in Amsterdam!
The final ball really has been lacking for England tonight. They break really well here and look to have Netherlands on the ropes, but Rose's cross is too high for anyone and the attack breaks down.
DISALLOWED GOAL! Netherlands do have the ball in the back of the net here as De Vrij turns the ball home at the second attempt, but the whistle had already gone for a goal kick after Depay had failed to keep the ball in play before providing the cross.
PENALTY SHOUT! England have a very strong shout for a penalty as both De Ligt and Zoet dive in on Rashford, who beats them to the ball and goes down. The referee says no, but the replays show that it was a stone-waller. Poor decision from the officials, and one that would be overturned if we had VAR tonight.
SHOT! Rashford looks like he has been fired up by that misjustice, and he has a couple of efforts in quick succession here. The first hits his own man in the back, and the second is deflected wide.
CHANCE! The resulting corner is again nodded down into a good area by Maguire, and Sterling picks it up on the edge of the six-yard box. However, he and Henderson get in each other's way and the ball just doesn't drop to them before Van Aanholt can get a toe to it and flick it against the arm of Sterling, who is penalised for handball.
This has been better from England in the last few minutes as they up the pressure on the Netherlands defence. That opening goal remains elusive, though.
Sloppy play from Lingard as he sells Stones short with a dangerous pass, but Stones is alert enough to make an important challenge on Dost.
GOAL! Netherlands 0-1 England (Jesse Lingard)
The deadlock is finally broken, and it is a first international goal for
Jesse Lingard!
It comes at the end of a nice move from the visitors too, with Lingard himself involved in a buildup which started with Pickford. Rose's low cross into the area is only cleared as far as Lingard, who is able to take his time, pick his spot, and stroke his finish past Zoet. The Netherlands keeper did get his hand to the ball and perhaps should have done better, but Lingard isn't complaining!
UPDATE: There has also been a goal in Portugal's match against Egypt tonight, and one of the two likely goalscorers has indeed broken the deadlock with Mohamed Salah giving Egypt the lead.
Almost a quick response from the hosts as Dost cuts inside before eventually teeing the ball up to Promes, who sees his effort from the edge of the box deflected over.
CHANCE! Another chance for Holland here as this time it is a dragged Wijnaldum effort which almost turns into a perfect pass. Dost tries an inventive back-heel finish to turn the ball goalwards, but he cannot generate the power to really trouble Pickford.
Netherlands have responded really well to going behind here. Dost knocks the ball down to Promes, who is only denied by a really good block, before Hateboer almost gets an opening at the back post.
NETHERLANDS SUBS: Here come the changes. The hosts make two as Ryan Babel and Davy Propper replace Dost and Promes.
ENGLAND SUBS: England respond with a triple change of their own, and it is an attacking trio coming on. Jamie Vardy, Dele Alli and Danny Welbeck are all introduced as Rashford, Lingard and Sterling depart.
Just 20 minutes remaining now, and this will go down as an encouraging performance and result for England if it stays like this. It still isn't exactly eye-catching, and the experimental nature of the team is concerning this close to the World Cup, but a win is a win.
ENGLAND SUB: Another change from Southgate here as Ashley Young replaces Rose.
Almost a half-chance for Memphis here as he lets fly from outside the box, but once again there is an England body in the way.
England have resumed control of possession following that brief Netherlands fightback after the goal. There isn't a great deal of urgency in search of a second goal, but the onus is not on them to push for that now.
Here is that Lingard goal, which as things stand will be sending England to victory in Amsterdam...
UPDATE: Argentina have opened the scoring in their glamour friendly with Italy as Ever Banega breaks the deadlock.
UPDATE: A quick second has followed for Argentina, with Manuel Lanzini doubling their lead against Italy. Elsewhere, Colombia have come from two goals behind to level things up against France in Paris.
Back in Amsterdam, Netherlands have a free kick in a good position following a foul from Stones on Babel...
SAVE! Depay goes for goal, and it is a decent effort but too central as Pickford - who had started to move across his goal - managed to gather.
CHANCE! England go straight up the other end and threaten a second as Alli's cross towards the back post is cut out by Van Dijk, but Welbeck collects the loose ball. He tees up Trippier, whose crisp first-time strike needs to be parried away by Zoet.
Almost a chance for Netherlands again as Memphis looks to have a yard of space in the area, only for Stones to make a good challenge and Pickford to collect the loose ball.
This isn't one Van Aanholt will want to see again. He goes for goal with his weaker right foot, but slices it out for a throw-in.
ENGLAND SUB: A sub is subbed here as Maguire - an early replacement for Gomez - is taken off for Eric Dier.
NETHERLANDS SUBS: The hosts almost make a double change as Wout Weghorst comes on for his debut and Donny van de Beek is also introduced. De Ligt and Strootman depart.
There will be four minutes of added time at the end of this match.
FULL TIME: Netherlands 0-1 England
The final whistle blows in the Amsterdam ArenA and it is England to come away with the win - their first against Netherlands since 1996 and their first in Amsterdam since 1969!
Jesse Lingard's first international goal was the difference tonight as England finally made the breakthrough shortly before the hour mark and, while it wasn't a match of huge quality once again, Southgate will be satisfied with his side's performance tonight.
Right, that is all we have time for this evening!
Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's match as England begin World Cup year with a rare win in Holland courtesy of Jesse Lingard's goal. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction too.
From me, though, it is goodbye for now!
