England have always been a strong team in major international tournaments, but their players have failed to impress, disappointing their fans. England have looked great of late, winning all 10 matches in the qualifying round for Euro 2016, and are therefore serious contenders for the title in France.
England showed some strong character to come back from two goals down against Germany in their last friendly, and win the game 3-2. England have another stiff test at Wembley Tuesday against the Netherlands, who might have something to prove after failing to qualify for Euro 2016.
England manager Roy Hodgson wants his team to deliver against the Netherlands as well.
"After the Germany game we don't want a game that doesn't test us. I want these games to show that we have players capable of doing what we want them to do," BBC quoted Hodgson as saying.
The Three Lions have huge depth in their squad, which gives Hodgson an option to play different players and experiment before picking England's Euro 2016 squad. Daniel Sturridge, who did not play a single game in the qualifying stages, is expected to start against the Netherlands, but he might have to fight for a starting role in England's colours, with Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy in fine form. Similarly, Danny Welbeck also needs to perform so as to get picked in the squad.
"The next six weeks before I name my final squad is very important for them. Playing on a regular basis is my biggest hope for these two players," Hodgson said.
Though the home team will be exceptionally well supported at Wembley, Netherlands are not going to be pushovers. And, Hodgson is fully aware of it.
The Netherlands are dependent on youngsters such as Memphis Depay, Ibrahim Afellay and Riechedly Bazoer for their England game. Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie have been ruled out of the clash as well. Things have not looked good for the Netherlands, who lost to France in their last friendly as well. They lost 3-2 at home.
The Netherlands team are in contrast with England, who have a host of stars in their squad while the Dutch are trying to rebuild their team, and improve upon their future as well.
"They have big players with big clubs. They used to have a lot of foreign players at the clubs. Now it appears they have more home-based English players in their league so they can build a good national team. That is in contrast to us, we are now rebuilding our team with extremely young players," Danny Blind, the Netherlands manager, was quoted as saying by the Guardian.
The Netherlands should focus on building their team for major competitions like the 2018 World Cup in Russia, and forget their disappointment of failing to qualify for Euro 2016. It is through such matches against England that they can win and get their confidence back as well.
The Netherlands have not lost a single game in their last five friendlies against England, who lost to the Dutch 3-2 in their last encounter at Wembley in 2012. The Netherlands will be keen to maintain their record against the Three Lions Tuesday night as well.
Where to watch live
England vs Netherlands is scheduled for a 7 p.m. GMT (12: 30 a.m. IST, 2 p.m. ET) start, with live TV coverage in India on Sony Six/HD. Viewers in India can also watch the match via live streaming online on Sony Liv.
Fans in UK can watch England vs Netherlands live on ITV UK, and the match is also available online on ITV player. with radio commentary available on BBC Radio 5 Live.
SBS 6 will show the game live in the Netherlands.
Fox Sports 1 will show the England vs Netherlands game live in the US. It can also be live streamed online on FoxSoccer2Go.
