France begin their road to Euro 2024 with a heavyweight qualification clash against the Netherlands today.
Kylian Mbappe has now been named Didier Deschamps’ captain as Les Bleus’ coach looks to win the one major international tournament to have evaded him thus far.
The Paris Saint-Germain striker famously scored a hat-trick in the World Cup final loss to Argentina but now gets a chance to lead a new generation of France stars.
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Hugo Lloris and Raphael Varane have retired but the production line in France continues to produce.
It’s also a new – well somewhat new – dawn for the Netherlands. Ronald Koeman has returned to lead the Oranje following the retirement of Louis van Gaal and is looking to pick up where he left off before taking the Barcelona job in 2019.
Date, kick-off time and venue
France vs Netherlands is scheduled for a 7.45pm GMT kick-off time tonight on Friday March 24, 2023.
The Stade de France in Paris will host the contest.
Where to watch France vs Netherlands
TV channel: In the UK, the game is being broadcast live on Viaplay Sports. Coverage gets underway at 7.35pm. A subscription costs £14.99 a month, or £11.99 a month if you opt for a 12-month contract.
Live stream: Viaplay Sports subscribers can stream the game live online on the Viaplay website.
LIVE coverage: Follow all the action with Standard Sport’s dedicated live match blog tonight.
France vs Netherlands team news
Several injured players are absent for France including William Saliba, N’Golo Kante and Wesley Fofana.
Karim Benzema and Hugo Lloris feature in a troop of recently retired stars too, meaning Deschamps will likely give game-time to some fresh faces in Euros qualification.
Frenkie de Jong was an early withdrawal from the Dutch squad which lost five players to a virus on the eve of the game, including Matthijs de Ligt and Cody Gakpo. Denzel Dumfries is in the squad but suspended.
France vs Netherlands prediction
Such is the strength in depth available to Deschamps, there is little reason to imagine France dropping off even despite their World Cup heartache.
France to win, 3-1.
Head to head (h2h) history and results
France wins: 14
Draws: 3
Netherlands wins: 11
France vs Netherlands match odds
France to win: 13/20
Draw: 31/10
Netherlands to win: 15/4
