Netherlands vs. Italy 9/7/20 UEFA Nations League Soccer Pick, Odds, and Prediction

Netherlands is welcoming Italy to Johan Cruijff Arena in a derby match of round 2 in the UEFA Nations League.

Netherlands is on a 7-game streak without a loss, including their game in the Nations League against Poland just a few days ago. Netherlands was the dominant team in this match with 63% of ball possession, 4 shots on goal, 5 corner kicks, and 88% of the correct passes. Netherlands has created a lot of good chances in this match, but they were able to finish only one. In the 61st minute, Netherlands has scored a goal, and the result hasn’t changed again. Netherlands has won this match 1-0. Steven Bergwijn has scored the only goal for Netherlands so far, while Hateboer has 1 assist. Netherlands will be playing against Ukraine and Austria in the Euro Cup nest year, a group where Netherlands is the big favorite of course, but not only that, Netherlands is one of the main favorites to win the Euro Cup. The problem for Netherlands right now is on the coaching position because Koeman has left the Netherlands because he was wanted by Barcelona. The new head coach is still unknown, but it will be difficult to find a good replacement because Koeman has done a fantastic job with this team.

Italy has been playing a fantastic soccer in the qualifications, and they have had 10 straight wins. Italy will be playing in Group A with Turkey, Wales, and Switzerland. In their latest match against Bosnia at home, Italy was dominant but sloppy. Italy has had 61% of ball possession, 4 shots on goal, 7 corner kicks, and 86% of the correct passes. I was watching this game, and Italy was playing well, until that crucial moment when they had to finish a chance. Italy was sloppy and they couldn’t make that final pass towards the goal. Bosnia got ahead in the 57th minute, but Italy scored just 10 minutes later, and this match ended in a 1-1 draw. Stefano Sensi has scored 1 goal for Italy so far, while Insigne added 1 assist. I’m pretty sure we can expect a few changes in the Italian starting lineup, especially in the attacking end where coach Mancini will look for other solutions and hope that they can play better. I like Italy, and they are playing different soccer then they did for years, and the fans love it. Italy is scoring a lot of goals while still being compact on the defensive end. I think Italy is ready to make a big result in the Euro Cup next year.

Both Netherlands and Italy have missed a ton of chances in their first games of the Nations League, but they each used only 1. When Netherlands and Italy meet, we usually see goals, and I think we will see some here as well. It seems that all the teams are struggling with scoring goals at the beginning of this Nations League, but round two has been better.