Nations League Final Preview
The inaugural Uefa Nations League final will see Portugal take on the Netherlands on Sunday and the ProTipster crew has just the right pick for you...
Portugal - Netherlands Betting Preview
Tournament hosts Portugal beat Switzerland 3-1 in their semi-final, while the Netherlands got past England by the same score after extra-time.
Both teams shouldn’t lack the necessary motivation for this game. For defending European champions Portugal, Sunday represents the chance to show they are capable of going with the best Europe has to offer, after a disappointing round-of-16 exit at last year’s World Cup. A win will be that much bigger if they can muster it in front of their own fans, after falling in the Euro 2004 final to Greece, a defeat still being a shocking thing to remember.
Meanwhile, a Netherlands win would cap an impressive turnaround under Ronald Koeman. This is the same team that failed to qualify for both the Euro 2016 and the World Cup 2018 so a win here would heal some of those wounds. One can just feel a new great Dutch generation coming on to the big scene and a win here would just confirm it. No one expected them to get to the finals (being drawn in a group with Germany and France) but now they need another big win to settle a great season for Dutch football.
There are three reasons why this should be a good bet: the home field advantage, problems with the fatigue for the Dutch and Cristiano Ronaldo effect.
Three Reasons to Bet on Portugal
First of all, home field advantage does count. These odds are pretty large considering the game will be played at Dragao. If this was just a regular game in a qualification group the odds on Portugal to win would be around 2.00, maybe even less. So these odds are somewhat unrealistic and a product of all the hype around the Dutch football at the moment.
Another important thing is the fact Holland did have to play another 30 minutes of football just a couple of days ago and the fatigue just has to be a factor. Their high-pressing style just isn’t suited for any fatigue worries and this might prove to be a big problem for Ronald Koeman. Even if they manage to press high on the pitch, Portugal just have many technically gifted players that will make this job much tougher for the Dutch squad. Against England, it worked, and against Portugal, it will be much more difficult, maybe even impossible to repeat it.
And then there is Cristiano Ronaldo, a hat-trick hero of the semi-final game. His season in Italy didn’t end particularly well and one can just see he is thirsty for another trophy. As one could see in the game against England, the Dutch defence isn’t a stranger to making mistakes. One got punished and a couple went unnoticed. With Cristiano Ronaldo finishing record, these mistakes just won’t be allowed to happen, and they will certainly get punished.
