The Netherlands are set to host Greece at the Philips Stadion on Thursday night in the qualification round of the UEFA Euro qualifiers. While the Oranje have picked up three points from their opening two fixtures in Group B, the Greeks have accumulated six points from their first three matches. Ronald Koeman will have been aware of the challenging fixture schedule that his Netherlands side were presented with in the first half of 2023, but it is fair to say that the 60-year-old manager has been left disappointed with his return to the Oranje hotseat. Koeman´s men began their Euro qualifying campaign with a heavy 4:0 loss in France and have since suffered losses in both the semi-final and 3rd place playoff in the Nations League despite boasting home advantage. The Netherlands come into this game on the back of a 3-2 loss to Italy in their most recent game. Meanwhile, this Greece side has won two of their first three qualifiers. Gus Poyet´s men lost out narrowly in their last road game against beaten WC finalists France, and I expect the Greeks to again make this a tricky night for the hosts. However, I am expecting a win for the Netherlands for the following reasons:

Firstly. Since replacing Louis van Gaal in January, Koeman has suffered three defeats in his opening four games of his second spell in charge of the Netherlands, including a 4-0 drubbing against Group B leaders France in their first Euro 2024 qualifier in March. Defensive issues continue to give the Dutch plenty of headaches - over the past 18 months, Koeman´s men have kept clean sheets in just three of their last 10 games - against Qatar, Senegal and Gibraltar. The Oranje have not been at their best, and they will be eager to return to winning ways. They will be looking to win both their qualifying fixtures in this international break in order to improve their situation on the points table.

Secondly. Greece have had a decent start to their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign. They are currently second behind France with six points in their three outings. Greece are seeking to end a 12-year wait to qualify for the European Championships that they won for the first and only time to date back in 2004, and victories over the Netherlands on Thursday and Gibraltar on Sunday would put them in the driving seat to secure a top-two finish in Group B along with France. However, they have not been impressive while playing on the road. They have only won one of their last five away matches, and the Netherlands do have the better quality in their team than them.

Following an underwhelming start to 2023, the pressure is on the Netherlands to find their form and come out on top in what, on paper, is considered a favourable-looking fixture at home against Greece. On a good day, Netherlands have the quality in their team to beat Greece, and I expect Thursday night to be a good day to do that considering that the stakes are high for them. I expect a win for the Netherlands on Thursday night.

周四晚上，荷兰队将在飞利浦球场迎战希腊队，进行欧洲杯预选赛的资格赛。虽然橙衣军团在B组的前两场比赛中获得了3分，但希腊人在前三场比赛中已经累积了6分。罗纳德·科曼应该已经意识到他的荷兰队在2023年上半年面临着充满挑战的赛程，但公平地说，这位60岁的主教练对他回到荷兰队的热门位置感到失望。科曼的球队在欧洲杯预选赛中以0比4惨败于法国，尽管拥有主场优势，但他们在半决赛和国家联赛第三名的季后赛中都遭遇了失败。荷兰队在上一场比赛中以3比2输给意大利队，随后进入本场比赛。与此同时，这支希腊球队在前三场预选赛中赢了两场。波耶特的球队在上一场客场比赛中以微弱劣势输给了世界杯决赛对手法国队，我预计希腊人将再次让东道主感到棘手。然而，我希望荷兰队能赢，原因如下:

首先。自从今年1月取代范加尔以来，科曼在他执教荷兰队的头4场比赛中遭遇了3场失利，其中包括在3月荷兰队首场欧洲杯预选赛中0 - 4惨败B组头名法国队。防守问题继续让荷兰人头疼——在过去的18个月里，科曼的球队在最近10场比赛中只有3场没有失球——对阵卡塔尔、塞内加尔和直布罗陀。橙衣军团并没有处于最佳状态，他们将渴望回到胜利的道路上。他们希望在国际比赛日赢得两场资格赛，以改善他们在积分榜上的地位。

其次。希腊在2024年欧洲杯预选赛中开局不错。目前，他们在三场比赛中积6分，仅次于法国队，排名第二。希腊正在寻求结束长达12年的等待，以获得欧洲杯的资格，这是他们自2004年以来第一次也是唯一一次获得冠军。周四对荷兰和周日对直布罗陀的胜利，将使他们占据主导地位，与法国一起获得B组前两名。然而，他们在客场比赛中并没有给人留下深刻的印象。他们在最近的五场客场比赛中只赢了一场，荷兰队的实力确实比他们强。

在经历了2023年平淡无奇的开局之后，荷兰队面临着找回状态的压力，并在主场对阵希腊的比赛中脱颖而出，这在纸面上被认为是一场有利的比赛。在一个美好的日子里，荷兰队有能力击败希腊队，我希望周四晚上是一个美好的日子，因为他们的赌注很高。我希望荷兰队能在周四晚上获胜。