Nations League, Netherlands-Croatia sets the stage for the semi-finals
The Netherlands-Croatia is the first semi-final match of the Nations League in the 2022-2023 season, which starts at 21:00.
The “Tulips” return to this stage after two editions, as in the first season of the Nations League, 2018-2019, the Netherlands was defeated in the final against Portugal.
The Netherlands finished first in Group 4 of the A-League, behind Belgium, Poland and Wales.
On the other side, Croatia debuts at this stage, after being positioned as the first force in Group 1 in League A, leaving behind representatives such as Denmark, France and Austria.
The Netherlands started the year 2023 with a 4-0 defeat against France in the Euro 2024 qualifiers, but triumphed over Gibraltar 3-0 and why it should be noted that the defeat against the “Roosters” was somewhat heavy for the Dutch environment.
Croatia, which recorded its last defeat in the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup against Argentina, comes with the right “mood” in this match.
The Croatians triumphed over Turkey in the last transfer game and have started the journey to the European Championship Germany 2024 well with 4 points in the first two games.
What should be emphasized is the fact that the Netherlands and Croatia meet again in an official match after 25 years because the last official match was on July 11, 1998 in the “minor final” of the World Cup, France 1998, a challenge which ended 2-1 in favor of the Croats.
The two teams then played a friendly in February 2008, with the Netherlands winning 3-0.
