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Portugal vs. Netherlands: Time, Live Stream and TV Schedule
March 26, 2018
Portugal and the Netherlands will meet on Monday in an international friendly, as the defending European champions continue their FIFA World Cup preparations.
Both teams were in action on Friday, where the Dutch lost to England in a drab display and Portugal didn't fare much better. Two late goals from Cristiano Ronaldo saw the side past Egypt, who had led for much of the second half.
The Netherlands are trying to figure out their future and are far from their best at present, but they have enough individual quality to give Portugal a stern test ahead of the World Cup. Here's all you need to know about the friendly.
Date: Monday, March 26
Time: 6:30 p.m. BST/1:30 p.m. ET
Location: Geneva, Switzerland
TV/Live Stream Info: ESPN3/WatchESPN (U.S.)
Preview
Midseason international friendlies often fail to entertain, as the players tend to not give it their all with an eye on what's to come in club competitions. Things were no different on Friday, per FourFourTwo:
The Netherlands barely threatened England's Jordan Pickford, mustering a handful of half-chances toward the end of the contest after Jesse Lingard had given the Three Lions the lead.
Things were a little better in Switzerland, where Portugal had the upper hand over Egypt but fell behind when Mohamed Salah opened the scoring.
Ronaldo and his troops seemed set to lose, but the Real Madrid man struck twice with expert headers in added time.
He's quickly rising up the all-time international scorer's rankings:
Managers tend to shuffle their teams around a bit in these international breaks, and for Dutch boss Ronald Koeman in particular, it's worth doing so again. His side won't be competing in the World Cup, so these friendlies are all about analysing as many players as possible.
His defence put together a fine showing against England, but it's in the other areas where question marks remain. Don't be shocked if a number of younger players see lots of minutes in Geneva, including the Ajax duo of Donny van de Beek and Justin Kluivert―aged just 20 and 18, respectively.
The Portuguese have less room to experiment, as they're finalising their squad ahead of this summer's World Cup. That doesn't mean there won't be any minutes for youngsters, however, with the likes of Goncalo Guedes and Ruben Neves likely to see plenty of them.
Neves got the start against Egypt and performed well, while Guedes came on as a late substitute. The Valencia man has enjoyed a breakout season and could be a big factor off the bench in Russia, while Neves will look to cement his position as a starter after a solid campaign with Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Championship.