England to play friendly against the Netherlands

The iconic Amsterdam ArenA stadium. Photo: jpmm (Flickr)

England will play at the futuristic Amsterdam ArenA on Friday, March 23 as the Netherlands play host to the Three Lions in their international friendly.

Gareth Southgate’s side go into the match on the back of two goalless draws against Germany and Brazil in their previous two outings- both at Wembley Stadium.

There are four uncapped Premier League players in the squad– Alfie Mawson (Swansea), Nick Pope (Burnley), Lewis Cook (Bournemouth) and James Tarkowski (Burnley)- as the manager continues to experiment with the pool of talent available.

England have played the Dutch on 33 occasions, the most recent encounter coming at Wembley Stadium in 2016, with the Netherlands coming out on top.

The match kicks off at 19:45 GMT.

Here are three memorable games against the Oranje:

England 2-3 Netherlands, 2012– The first, and only, game in charge of the national side for Stuart Pearce.

The game came after the shock resignation of Fabio Capello from the managerial position and saw Fraizer Campbell collect his, so far, solitary international cap.

England came from two goals down to almost snatch a draw, until Arjen Robben grabbed a late winner. 

Netherlands 2-1 England, 1993– A late free-kick saw the Dutch leave England’s World Cup qualification dreams in tatters after this must-win game.

The officials decisions in the match were disputed by then-manager Graham Taylor who famously told the assistant referee that: “You’ve got me the sack.”

The current Dutch manager, Ronald Koeman, played in that match was involved in the controversy.

England 4-1 Netherlands, 1996– In the year of ‘Footballs Coming Home’, two goals apiece for Alan Shearer and Teddy Sheringham saw the Three Lions progress to the quarter-finals of the European Championships after a brilliant win at the old Wembley.

The match is remembered for the Netherlands goal being enough to knock Scotland out of the competition on goal difference.

The Dutch team at Euro ’96 before the England game. Photo: Nick (Flickr)

 

 

Exit mobile version