Netherlands stars in contention ahead of quarter-final meeting with gung-ho Turkey
DREAM TEAM EUROS managers would do well to remember there are eight teams still active in Germany.
Friday’s glamour quarter-final fixtures featuring Spain, Germany, France and Portugal are mouthwatering match-ups and there will always be heavy focus on England, set to take on Switzerland on Saturday.
But Netherlands v Turkey should not be an afterthought in Matchday 5.
In fact, our sponsors Betfair reckon the Oranje are the only team odds-on to progress to the semi-finals.
Vincenzo Montella’s side are not to be underestimated of course, they play with a high intensity and have some real gems in the squad such as Arda Guler (£2.5m), Hakan Calhanoglu (£3m) and Ferdi Kadioglu (£2.5m).
However, while Turkey pack a punch, the stats suggest they’re vulnerable at the back.
They’re yet to keep a clean sheet at Euro 2024 and only three teams (Georgia, Romania and Slovenia) have allowed their opponents more shots at the tournament to date.
Furthermore, Georgia are the only team that have conceded more expected goals (xG) than Turkey.
SHOTS CONCEDED AMONG QUARTER-FINALISTS:
- Turkey – 59
- Swizterland – 47
- Netherlands – 41
- England – 39
- Spain – 33
- Portugal – 32
- France – 28
- Germany – 27
XG CONCEDED AMONG QUARTER-FINALISTS:
- Turkey – 7.5
- Switzerland – 4.2
- Netherlands – 3.9
- Portugal – 3.4
- England – 3.3
- Spain – 3
- Germany – 3
- France – 2.6
The numbers clearly suggest that it might be wise for Dream Team Euros bosses to back the Netherlands’ most-prominent attack-minded assets in Matchday 5.
And who better than Cody Gakpo (£4m)?
The Liverpool forward is currently the outright top performer in Dream Team Euros by a considerable margin after his 16-point haul against Romania.
The 25-year-old scored one goal and brilliantly assisted another as Ronald Koeman’s side produced their most-convincing performance of the tournament to end up 3-0 winners.
Gakpo now has a whopping 48 points to his name, nine more than his closest rival, Jamal Musiala (£4.5m).
In midfield, Xavi Simons (£4m) became the leading assist-provider at the tournament when he set up two goals in the round of 16.
The talented 21-year-old has the technically ability to exploit the potential weaknesses in Turkey’s team if they approach the game in the same gung-ho manner as they have the other games this summer.
Elsewhere, it will be interesting to see if Donyell Malen (£3.5m) comes back into the starting line-up after his brace against Romania.
The Borussia Dortmund forward pocketed 15 points in just 45 minutes and would be a tempting differential option if he was assured of a start against Turkey – he currently features in just 0.5% of teams.
Banking of a Dutch clean sheet is a less appealing strategy as Turkey tend to create plenty of chances but Denzel Dumfries (£4.5m) is semi-viable as he’s not shy of getting forward – he was a regular assist provider in qualifying.
That being said, Nathan Ake (£4m) is currently joint-fifth among all defenders on 27 points and so many gaffers will view him as a transfer target ahead of the quarter-finals.
Managers who prefer star quality will obviously be drawn to the likes of Spain, Germany and France, an understandable inclination, but those want to target a match-up should seriously consider Netherlands assets.