Netherlands vs Portugal: Who is going to be victorious?

The two sides met each other last year at the European Championship when the Netherlands claimed a 3-2 victory in the group stage.

The Netherlands generally have four wins and one loss in five previous meetings with Portugal.

We have seen at least three goals in each of these five outings between these rivals.

It’s going to an all-European affair when Netherlands takes on Portugal at the start of their Group E adventures on Sunday at Dunedin Stadium.

The Dutch team enter the tie as pretty big favorites, following an impressive runners-up finish in the previous World Cup edition.

Oranje have a much greater experience on the biggest stage compared to Portugal who are only making their World Cup debut this year.

The Netherlands were also the 2017 European champions and they know how to play at this level.

Nevertheless, there are several important issues with their current squad. First of all, the Dutch team will be without the main star Vivianne Miedema who is sidelined through an ACL injury.

Secondly, they have not quite enjoyed the best of campaign at the most recent EURO and they are now led by new manager Andries Jonker.

It remains to be seen how this Dutch team will perform in Australia and New Zealand. This is one of the most important games of the group for them in the battle for the second place in the section assuming the United States will be the main contenders for the top spot.

Portugal, on the other side, have drastically improved their performances in the last decade.

Head coach Francisco Neto has been at the helm since 2014 and he has transformed a team that has never been at any big international competition to a side that has featured in two EUROs and now in the World Cup.