Euro 2024 qualifier tips: France vs Netherlands - Kylian Mbappe leads French new wave
A new-look France side will have to respond from World Cup heartbreak just three months ago as Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands team visit Paris for the opening game of their Euro 2024 qualifying campagn.
Before France can think about reaching another final, they must first qualify and it will be Kylian Mbappe who leads the side out from now on, after captain Hugo Lloris retired from the national stage.
Experienced centre-back Raphael Varane also called time on his France career, while 2022 Ballon d'Or winner Karim Benzema decided to quit following issues with manager Didier Deschamps.
Mbappe won the prestigious Golden Boot award in Qatar back in December after a tremendous individual performance in the final where he scored a hat-trick.
Sadly for the young French star, it was his PSG team-mate Lionel Messi who lifted the trophy after Argentina defeated France in the penalty shootout.
Netherlands may not have reached the same heights in Qatar, but they did suffer the same fate, having lost on penalties to Argentina in the quarter-finals. In fact, the game was almost a carbon copy of the final as Argentina dropped a 2-0 lead, before eventually doing it the hard way from 12 yards.
Louis van Gaal has opted to retire from management since, which has paved the way for Ronald Koeman to return to the helm. A Barcelona legend in his playing days, Koeman begins his second stint in charge of the Oranje having led them to the final of the inaugural UEFA Nations League back in 2018-2019 - they lost 1-0 to Portugal thanks to a Goncalo Guedes winner.
Koeman is a much more offensively minded manager than Van Gaal and therefore with the defensive personnel issues on both sides an open game can be expected.
- Paul Bathurst provides football tips as Soccer Sharp on the Tipstrr platform