North Macedonia take on Netherlands at Amsterdam ArenA in a Euro 2020 dead rubber.

Netherlands wrapped up top spot in Group C with a 2-0 win against Austria on Thursday after North Macedonia had earlier exited the competition with a 2-1 defeat to Ukraine.

Match preview

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Having qualified for Euro 2020 via the bottom path of the UEFA Nations League, the odds were always stacked against North Macedonia in terms of progressing to the knockout stages.

Many neutrals questioned whether Igor Angelovski's side would even score a goal at the competition, so by netting in both defeats to Austria and Ukraine, the Lynxes have already proven people wrong in that regard.

However, Angelovski would have been disappointed with his side's defending when allowing Andriy Yarmolenko too much time and space to prod Ukraine ahead in the first half, with Roman Yaremchuk clinical for his side's second.

Leeds United full-back Ezgjan Alioski scored from the rebound after missing a penalty prior to the hour mark to provide North Macedonia with hope of remaining in the competition, but despite plenty of huffing and puffing they were ultimately unable to break Andriy Shevchenko's side's door down.

Head-to-head rules mean that Angelovski's outfit are now guaranteed to finish bottom of Group C, so they are simply playing for pride when they travel to Amsterdam to take on group winners Netherlands on Monday.

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Netherlands will also head into Monday's meeting with minimal pressure on their shoulders ahead of facing one of the four best third-placed sides in the last 16 in Budapest on June 27.

Frank de Boer's side were impressive once again when defeating Austria 2-0 on Thursday, with Memphis Depay's first-half penalty backed up by another second-half strike from the marauding wing-back Denzel Dumfries, who has been one of the standout players of the tournament so far.

Defensively, Oranje looked much stronger with Juventus defender Matthijs de Ligt back in the heart of the back three after the 21-year-old recovered from the groin injury which saw him miss out on Netherlands' opening 3-2 win against Ukraine.

With top spot in the group already wrapped up, De Boer will be wrestling in his mind between continuing to build the momentum his team have built so far and resting key players ahead of the knockout stages.

Team News

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North Macedonia improved in the second half of their 2-1 defeat to Ukraine after Darko Churlinov and Aleksandr Trajkovski had replaced Stefan Spirovski and Boban Nikolov at half-time, so Angelovski may be tempted to go with these changes from the start against Netherlands.

Otherwise, the 45-year-old is likely to reward the bulk of the players who have performed above expectations despite losing both matches so far.

As alluded to, De Boer may look to make several changes with top spot in the group already sealed and a last-16 tie six days afterwards to focus on.

Daley Blind missed the last two months of the season with an ankle injury and was replaced by Manchester City's Nathan Ake in the second half of the win against Austria, so it would be a surprise to see the 31-year-old start here.

Likewise, Marten de Roon picked up a yellow card against Austria and would be banned for the last 16 should he receive another, so 19-year-old Ryan Gravenberch is likely to start in midfield.

Luuk de Jong could replace Wout Weghorst up front, with Owen Wijndal allowing Patrick van Aanholt a breather at left wing-back.

North Macedonia possible starting lineup:
Dimitrievski; Ristovski, Velkovski, Musliu; Trajkovski, Ademi, Churlinov, Bardhi, Alioski; Elmas, Pandev

Netherlands possible starting lineup:
Stekelenburg; De Vrij, De Ligt, Ake; Dumfries, Gravenberch, F. De Jong, Wijnaldum, Wijndal; L. De Jong, Depay

We say: North Macedonia 1-3 Netherlands

As has been the case in their first two defeats at Euro 2020, we expect North Macedonia to make life difficult for Netherlands, particularly if De Boer makes some changes to his starting XI as expected.

However, Oranje should have too much offensive firepower for their opponents regardless, and could become the first nation to win all three group matches at a European Championship since Germany in 2012.

Written by
Brett Curtis

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