France and Netherlands are set to collide in an international friendly match on Friday at Amsterdam Arena as part of their buildup for upcoming major tournaments.
France, who have won in five of their last six friendlies, are preparing for their Euro 2016 campaign, where they will be among the favorites as host of the event.
However, fans will not be able to watch a full-strength French squad on Friday night, as they will be playing without several key players. According to Goal.com, Real Madrid star Karim Benzema will not see action due to suspension, while Mathieu Valbuena will miss the match due fitness issues.
With their regular rotation players out, Leicester City star N'Golo Kante could make his debut for France, while West Ham midfielder Dimitri Payet could also make an impact for the Didier Deschamps-coached team.
Meanwhile, Netherlands are expected to parade a young roster in the upcoming friendly match -- without the likes of Robin van Persie, Nigel de Jong and Rafael van der Vaart. Youngsters Vincent Janssen, Timo Letschert and Rick Karsdorp could get their first international cap for the Dutch side.
Netherlands are expected to play inspired football, though, as the match will be dedicated to Dutch football legend Johan Cruyff, who died of cancer on Thursday. Dutch Football Association director Ben van Oostveen said that the match will be stopped at the 14th minute for a minute of silence to pay tribute to Cruyff, who wore No. 14 before.
"We will start with a minute of silence for the victims in Brussels and in the 14th minute we will bring the match to a silence," Oostveen said via ESPN. "In memory of the greatest footballer we have perhaps ever produced."
Match Schedule, Live Stream and Prediction
The France-Netherlands international friendly match is scheduled to kick off at 3:45 p.m. ET. TV broadcast schedule and live stream information are available on Live Soccer TV.
France, despite the absence of usual starters, are favored to win against Netherlands on Friday. France are already in a desirable spot with less than three months left before Euro 2016. Expect France to take advantage of an incohesive Dutch squad, who are rebuilding after a disastrous Euro 2016 qualifying campaign. France 3-0.
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