Netherlands vs. France: Date, Time, TV Schedule, Live Stream for 2016 Friendly
The Netherlands won't be present at UEFA Euro 2016 this summer, but the continental giants are nevertheless sure to offer tournament hosts France a stiff contest when they meet for a friendly in Amsterdam on Friday.
Manager Danny Blind is attempting to paper over the cracks of the Oranje's unsuccessful qualification bid for the European Championship, while Les Bleus enter preparation for a pressure-filled competition.
MUTV, the official channel of English giants Manchester United, will broadcast the tie, with several Red Devils in action for both teams:
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As tournament hosts, France have a burden on their shoulders to do well in front of a home audience, and the Netherlands will treat Friday's face-off as a nothing-to-lose clash.
Read on for all the essential viewing information ahead of the upcoming friendly, complete with the latest headlines prior to Friday's duel.
Date: Friday, March 25
Time: 7:45 p.m. GMT/3:45 p.m. ET
Venue: Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam
TV Info: MUTV
Live Stream: FuboTV, beIN Sports Connect (US)
The Oranje Experiment
While France have certain expectations to live up to at the Amsterdam Arena, one silver lining in the Netherlands' failure to qualify for Euro 2016 is that they can now use this period purely as a rebuilding process.
Blind can look to promote a new generation of players, and the manager appears intent on doing just that after Sky Sports' Gerard Brand reported all-time record goalscorer Robin van Persie, 32, was left out of the squad.
Ron Vlaar, 31, and Nigel de Jong, 31, were also among those omitted from Blind's lineup, and veteran midfielder Wesley Sneijder told Dutch broadcaster NOS it's time for the youngsters to "step up" (h/t Goal's Stefan Coerts):
"I am comparing our situation to that of Belgium. They had a good generation as well and then nothing for a while.
They had to rejuvenate their squad and the same thing is happening with us now. We have a lot of new and young players with plenty of quality. Belgium are reaping the rewards now. It will be the same for us in two years' time. That's when the youngsters will have to step up.
I feel a certain responsibility now, absolutely. I want to be visiting a major tournament in about eight years or so and see Netherlands win it. I will then have played my part in it as well.
"
It's an admirable show of humility from the Galatasaray man, who boasts 120 international caps—almost 40 more than any other player in the squad—and knows his time in the team is drawing to a close.
Defenders Rick Karsdorp, 21, and Timo Letschert, 22, as well as striker Vincent Janssen, 21, could all make their Netherlands debuts against France, who are at risk of playing an Oranje team full of fresh belief.
Deschamps Building French Foundations
France will play their first fixture of 2016 with the timer ticking down to June 10, the day they'll open Euro 2016 against Romania with a nation's dreams of home glory in their sights.
Deschamps begins his tournament preparation with a fresh-faced squad, too, one that's handed terrific opportunities to a host of players young and old.
One particular example of the former is Manchester United starlet Anthony Martial, and the France head coach believes he's proving worthy of the £36 million fee that took him to Old Trafford from AS Monaco last summer.
Per ESPN FC, Deschamps said:
"Anthony is young but he has confirmed his potential in Manchester despite the weight of the price of his transfer.
He has progressed, he plays a lot. He is young and he is not tired.
He is doing very interesting things with speed and impact. Usually he plays on the left but he can play as centre-forward too.
It's good, he continues to progress, he comes regularly for the French national team [but] he has a lot of room for improvement.
"
Only two outfield players in Deschamps' 23-man squad boast more than 50 caps, while nine of those present are aged 30 or over, with six of those playing in defence.
One of the veterans selected is Andre-Pierre Gignac, 30, who has come upon some stellar form in Liga MX with Mexican giants Tigres, netting 24 goals in 35 games since moving to the club last year.
ESPN FC's Tom Marshall highlighted this as a spectacular chance for the striker, particularly with Real Madrid's Karim Benzema not present:
N'Golo Kante, 24, could debut against the Netherlands after showing superb form with Leicester City during their rise to the Premier League summit this season, while goalkeeper Benoit Costil, 28, is the other uncapped player named by Deschamps.
By and large, the France team is made up of players in or approaching their prime, and Friday's fixture could provide some suggestion as to whether 2016 will be their year.
