Ahead of their participation in the European Championships in June, the Netherlands is scheduled to engage in two warm-up friendlies, as announced by the Dutch Football Association (KNVB). Under the leadership of Ronald Koeman, the team will face Canada on Thursday, June 6, followed by a match against Iceland four days later. Both games are set to be held at the De Kuip stadium in Rotterdam, with the Dutch squad departing for Germany a day after the second friendly.
The Oranje have yet to beat either of their opponents in previous meetings. Canada last faced the Dutch in a friendly in 1994, when the hosts won 3-0 with goals from John Heitinga and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. Meanwhile, Iceland has played the Dutch 12 times in the past, and none of those matches.
Having lost to England in the 2015 World Cup final, the Netherlands will be determined to make amends in Germany and reach the quarter-finals for the first time since 2010. With a squad that features Jill Roord, Fenna Kalma, and new coach Andries Jonker, they can be a force to be reckoned with.
Their group at the tournament in Munich will feature France, Austria, and one of this month’s playoff winners, who will be at full strength after a 2-0 win over Belgium. The Dutch hope to bounce back from a disappointing draw with the USA in their opening game and can expect a tough fight against France.
However, the French are a side that can be dangerous to anyone. They beat the Oranje twice in qualifying and came within a whisker of eliminating them in the playoff round. While it might be tempting to overlook Austria, the Oranje know that they can cause a surprise.
The Dutch, who also have a decent goalkeeper in Bart Verbruggen and the ever-improving Jan Jongbloed in defense, are light in attack and still have question marks over who will be their number one goalkeeper. Van Beveren was the established choice until he fell out with Michels and was replaced at the tail end of the qualifiers by Schrijvers. It seems unlikely that he will regain the No One shirt, leaving Verbruggen to be the clear favorite ahead of Brighton defender Joel Veltman and Jurrien Timber.