Ireland will host the Netherlands in the Europa League Group B match. Despite the loss of Ireland's superstar Ivan Ferguson, the attacking force has been weakened; but the Netherlands last round of great victory to boost morale, captain Wegger Heath regained his shooting boots, plus the recent road performance is eye-catching, this campaign will be full of effort, the visitors can be expected to win. (Monday, 2:45 a.m. kickoff)
Ireland have won just one of their first four rounds of Group B matches, with the only victory in their three losses coming over a weakened Gibraltar. Supernova Ewan Ferguson also made a mark in that game. However, with the departure of the honky-tonk striker due to injury, Ireland's attack has been weakened even further, including being shut out by France in their last match. In fact, Ireland themselves lack a strong attack, and now that Evan Ferguson is out, even with the home advantage, they should not be overly optimistic.
The Netherlands have been under pressure since the return of Ronald Gauvin to coaching, especially with his high profile claims of reviving the attacking soccer tradition of the "Orange Army". However, a 0-4 defeat against France in the first round, followed by a fourth-place finish in the UEFA Europa League, made people laugh at their lack of ambition. Fortunately, the Netherlands won two consecutive matches in this group, including a 3-4-2-1 formation against Greece, which resulted in a 3-0 win, with Gap and Weggers breaking their goal droughts and boosting their confidence, while right-back Dufresse also added two assists in an impressive performance.
