Netherlands will clash heads with Ecuador at the Khalifa International Stadium this Friday as they try to pick up maximum points from this 2022 FIFA World Cup contest. The Dutch side managed to earn a hard-fought 2-0 win over Senegal recently which will give them a lot of momentum ahead of this game.
Louis van Gaal will set his side up in a 3-4-1-2 formation for this game. He could ask his players to dominate the ball and engineer enough chances to win this game. We can expect to see Memphis Depay play from the start while Vincent Janssen drops to the bench.
3-4-1-2 Netherlands Predicted Lineup To Face Ecuador
Defence
Andries Noppert will feature in between the sticks for the Dutch national team as he hopes to secure another clean sheet in the World Cup. Van Gaal could opt for a back three of Jurrien Timber, Virgil Van Dijk and Nathan Ake as they try to keep the Ecuador attackers at bay during the game. All three of them need to be at the top of their game if the Netherlands want to secure another shutout later this week.
Matthijs de Ligt will provide cover for the centre-back spots on the bench.
Midfield
Steven Berghuis and Frenkie de Jong will operate as the central midfielders. Their main focus would be to orchestrate some meaningful opportunities for their teammates to score.
Daley Blind will fill in as the left-sided wing-back while Denzel Dumfries hopes to catch the eye as the right-sided winger. Both of them need to be adventurous with their runs out on the wide areas.
Cody Gakpo managed to get his name on the scoresheet versus Senegal. Hence, we can expect him to be a nailed-on starter in the number ten position as he looks to put in another influential display for the Netherlands in the final third.
Dany Klaassen will have to be content with a place on the bench but might come on to make an impact in the second half if required.
Attack
Memphis Depay and Steven Bergwijn will spearhead Van Gaal’s attack up top. Both Dutch strikers need to figure out a way to link up play well with each other and cause a lot of problems for the Ecuador defenders throughout the 90 minutes.
As mentioned earlier, Vincent Jannsen will be named on the bench as he waits for his opportunity to impress in the final quarter of the game if needed.
