The Netherlands will visit Gibraltar on Tuesday having secured their spot at Euro 2024. Ronald Koeman’s team defeated the Republic of Ireland 1-0 to guarantee a top-two finish in the section.
Preview (Gibraltar vs. Netherlands)
When Ethan Santos unintentionally turned the ball into his own net three minutes into Saturday’s match against Group B winners France, the writing was already on the wall for Gibraltar. The 24-year-old’s terrible evening concluded with him having to take a walk of shame. It was for a shocking challenge on Bleu’s debutant Warren Zaire-Emery. France created a new record for wins by a national team. It also recorded the largest margin of victory in a Euros qualification match and dealt Gibraltar their worst-ever defeat.
Gibraltar can find some comfort in the knowledge that even an unexpected victory at the Allianz Riviera would not have affected the Group B rankings. A penny for Julio Ribas’s thoughts on the touchline as he saw France repeatedly tear open his side’s porous backline. They failed to score a goal and gave up a qualification-high 35 goals on the other side of the ball. Cyprus, Malta, San Marino, and Liechtenstein have also failed to earn a single point from their Euro qualifying efforts. Gibraltar has never before qualified for a major tournament without managing to score a goal.
When the Republic of Ireland visited the Netherlands on Saturday night, they needed just one goal to secure a second-place finish in Group B, but they were defeated by a superb finish from Weghorst in the twelfth minute. Weghorst gave Nathan Collins the slip and surged forward before curling home into the top corner with style. It capped the Dutch comeback two months after they triumphed 2-1 in Dublin. In March, they triumphed 3-0 at De Kuip.
Team News
The 24-year-old defender for Manchester 62, a local team, will have plenty of time to think back on what was undoubtedly the worst 20 minutes of his career on Saturday night because he is suspended for Tuesday’s match due to his red card against France. Since Ribas lacks other options at center back, the 40-year-old Roy Chipolina should continue to wear the armband and either Jayce Olivero or Ethan Jolley, who are both full-backs by trade, should be brought into the Llanis defense-heavy lineup.
Michael Ruiz and Dylan Peacock are both waiting for their debuts. Chipolina’s seasoned legs are unlikely to receive a breather. Having lost so many big names to injury in the lead-up to Ireland’s visit, such as Steven Bergwijn, Jonathan Ake, Lutsharel Geertruida, and Jamie Frimpong, Koeman must have been relieved to see no new faces show up in the treatment room during the weekend. The Dutch still need to win by three points, but Koeman will undoubtedly think about rotating the starting lineup. This might result in Jarrel Hato and Thijs Dallinga making their international debuts at Estadio Algarve.
Gibraltar 0 – 5 Netherlands
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