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Horse Racing Netherlands vs Croatia Bet Builder Tips: Player Props Builder for Wednesday’s Nations League Clash
Netherlands vs Croatia Bet Builder Tips: Wednesday, June 14th
Just when you thought the football season was over for the summer BANG it’s back with a host of internationals and we are back with Netherlands vs Croatia bet builder tips.
A spot in the final of the 2022-23 UEFA Nations League is up for grabs in Rotterdam this Wednesday.
In this article:
- Netherlands vs Croatia Preview
- Netherlands vs Croatia Stats & Facts
- Netherlands vs Croatia Bet Builder
Netherlands vs Croatia Preview
Nations League, Wednesday, June 14th, 19:45 (UK)
The Netherlands are competing at a second UEFA Nations League finals. They lost 1-0 to France in the inaugural tournament of 2018/19. As hosts this time around they will be confident of going one better.
It was Louis van Gaal who masterminded a successful group stage. Topping the table unbeaten in a section containing Belgium, Poland and Wales.
Oranje squeezed 16 points out of a possible 18 in Group A4. Qualifying as highest scorers amongst the top tier nations with no one bettering their +8 goal difference.
An indifferent World Cup game was to follow and the end of the van Gaal reign. Ronald Koeman leads his nation here having suffered a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of France in his first international in charge. Registering his first success in the underwhelming 3-0 defeat of minnows Gibraltar last time out. A side ranked by FIFA as number 201 in the World.
Croatia secured a second successive 3rd placed finish in the World Cup with December’s defeat of Morocco in Qatar. A strong performance that followed their table topping Nations League campaign up nicely.
The Croats began with a defeat at home to Austria and then drew when hosting France. They bounced back in some style however, recording wins in each of their final four games while conceding just twice in the process.
Netherlands vs Croatia Stats & Facts
- Ronald Koeman now has the chance to become the first Netherlands manager to win silverware since 1988.
- In eight such fixtures, Croatia are yet to draw a Nations League away game.
- These two nations have only met twice previously. Winning one apiece with the Netherlands coming out on top 3-0 in a friendly back in 2008.
- Croatia’s third most capped player, Ivan Perisic will overtake Mario Mandzukic as their second highest scorer, if he can get on the scoresheet.
Netherlands vs Croatia Bet Builder
This game looks like a tough one to call. The Netherlands have won eight in a nine-game unbeaten run of competitive internationals on home soil. With opposition manager Zlatko Dalić labelling the Dutch as “the toughest opponents in the tournament”. However, I feel that the Chequered Ones may just be better suited to playing away from home.
We also have to take into account several extenuating circumstances in forming an opinion on this clash. After a long domestic campaign and a mid-season World Cup involving both nations, these final internationals are the last thing players yearning for the beach will want.
Temperatures will be touching 30 degrees in Rotterdam on the day of the game and although cooler come kick off are still expected to be in the mid 20’s. Both nations will also have key personnel missing with the likes of Dutch pair Memphis Depay and Matthijs de Ligt already ruled out as is Croatia’s Josko Gvardiol. Koeman must also assess Nathan Ake and Denzil Dumfries who both played in Saturday’s Champions League final.
With any outcome, amount of goals or teams scoring them possible I am avoiding those markets and instead looking to utilise the props markets. As a result, I am heading over to bet365 to compile this bet builder.
In my opinion by far and away the best bet builder available for bettors. Not only having a whole host of match and player props to pick from but allowing an incredible amount of control within each prop.
I am focusing on two players who I believe are certain to start. Cody Gakpo and Mateo Kovacic.
In the absence of Depay, Liverpool’s Gakpo is likely to fill the central striking role for Oranje. The 24-year-old also signed off his domestic campaign with a goal in a 33-minute cameo appearance off the bench.
Although the flexibility of the bet365 builder allows you to take as many as over 2.5 shots on target, I am taking him to have at least one here. Something he managed in seven of his last nine outings for Liverpool including in all of the last three.
The former Ajax man fired three goals in his five World Cup appearances. Also having not played 90 minutes since May 20th should be one of the freshest amongst the outfield contingent on show.
Mateo Kovacic must be relieved to be pulling on the chequered shirt of his nation as opposed to the Chelsea one he (currently) wears domestically. It’s been well documented to have been an atrocious campaign for the Londoners but the Croat has performed well enough to allegedly be on the verge of a switch to treble winners Manchester City.
The 29-year-old midfielder is probably more known for his quick, slick passing and ability to set the tempo of the game than his tackling. But it is the latter I am focusing on here to complete this two-legged bet builder.
With a total of 36 tackles from 1708 minutes of action in the English Premier League this season Kovacic averages 1.90 successful tackles per 90 minutes. That average is considerably higher when on international duty.
He averaged 2.60 tackles per 90 in the Nations League group stages after making 13 tackles in 447 minutes. His average from the first two European Qualifiers of this current campaign is similar at 2.70 per 90 minutes. With the highest total coming in the December World Cup at 3.40 tackles per 90 minutes.
Kovacic has made at least two tackles (not including extra time) in 11 of his last 14 international appearances for Croatia across all competitions. Adding over 1.5 tackles for him here gives us nice odds of 2.30 for this bet builder with bet365.
Showing the beauty of the bet365 bet builder, those looking for a more aggressive play have the flexibility to go as high as over 4.5 Kovacic tackles. Something he managed against Canada in the World Cup group stages and against Morocco in the third place play off.
- Cody Gakpo over 0.5 shots on target
- Mateo Kovacic over 1.5 tackles
Odds via bet365 as at 14:20 June 14th 2023. Odds may now differ.
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