Oranje will meet France in their second match of the European championships on Friday, after narrowly beating Poland 1-2.
Coach Ronald Koeman is keeping quiet about his plans for the game so far, although the AD speculates he may start with four defenders. But the big question of the day is will France’s Kylian Mbappé show up for the match in Leipzig after breaking his nose earlier in the competition?
Tens of thousands of Dutch supporters are in Leipzig for the game but have been warned to be ready for bad weather in the late afternoon.
Local bar owners say they are up and running to cope with the expected 40,000 fans. “We’ve got a lot more people on duty,” one bar owner told NOS. “We’ve also set up an outside bar.”
Video footage showing thousands of Dutch fans moving left and right to the Snollebollekes hit Links Rechts in Hamburg earlier in the week gathered so much global attention that, according to the Telegraaf, the band will appear in the Dutch fanzone in Leipzig on Friday as well.
Meanwhile, a majority of MPs have called on broadcaster NOS to do something about the excessive fees which it charges cafes and bars that show the matches on big screens.
“The European championships are there so that everyone can enjoy them, not make a quick buck,” VVD parliamentarian Arend Kisteman said on social media.
According to RTL, NOS wants to see €3.12 per viewer, and that means a fee of €7,800 for a square that can hold 2,500 people, even if fewer people turn up.
The kick-off for Friday evening’s match is 9 pm.
Thank you for donating to DutchNews.nl.
We could not provide the Dutch News service, and keep it free of charge, without the generous support of our readers. Your donations allow us to report on issues you tell us matter, and provide you with a summary of the most important Dutch news each day.
