One of international football’s more enduring grudge matches turns another chapter on Monday evening when Germany face the Netherlands in the Nations League.
By Ian King
The match will also mark the passing of a Dutch football legend; Johan Neeskens, the midfielder who starred in their team in the World Cup final in both 1974 and 1978, died earlier last week at 73 years of age.
The two sides met just a month ago at the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam and played out an entertaining if inconclusive 2-2 draw. With three games now played Germany lead the group following Friday’s Deniz Undav-inspired win in Bosnia, while the Netherlands sit second after securing a late draw against Hungary following the sending off of captain Virgil van Dijk.
Germany remain in something of a state of flux. Toni Kroos, Manuel Neuer, Ilkay Gündogan and Thomas Müller all retired following their quarter-final Euros loss to Spain in the summer. These four players had 451 caps between them, and that’s a lot of experience to lose. The upside to this is that it’s the sort of environment in which head coach Julian Nagelsmann has thrived before.
Furthermore, injuries to further key players including Jamal Musiala, Kai Havertz and Niclas Füllkrug, leave their squad looking a little threadbare. The upshot of all of this is that 21 year-old Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Florian Wirtz is their fifth most-experienced current player, and he has just 25 caps. Of their entire midfield and attack, only Wirtz, Serge Gnabry, Robert Andrich and Pascal Groß have more than ten, and only two have more than twenty.
A combination of van Dijk’s suspension for this match, and the enforced absence of Manchester City defender Nathan Aké, who was carried off with a hamstring injury during the corresponding match last month, will be the main pre-match concern in the Dutch camp. Memphis Depay is left out of the squad by Ronald Koeman again, following his transfer to the Brazilian club Corinthians last month. Frenkie de Jong is, as ever, still recovering from his latest injury and will not be risked for the national team just yet.
Although it won’t be the first match for either side since his passing, the memory of Johann Neeskens will hang heavy over the evening. Half a century ago this year, he was in the Netherlands team that took West Germany all the way in the 1974 World Cup final. This rivalry will surely be set aside to commemorate the passing of such an important and influential player. It is to be hoped that the players can come up with an appropriate tribute to him on the pitch, as well.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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