Two longtime international rivals reconvene for a friendly on Tuesday night when Germany take on the Netherlands.

A fierce 20th-century duel with distinct World War Two undertones, Germany vs Netherlands is nowhere near as bitter as it once was. The emotional connection from earlier fixtures has dissipated, but the two nations are still major players on the global stage.

The Germans head into Tuesday’s bout off the back of their most impressive result and performance of the Julian Nagelsmann era thus far. Florian Wirtz’s stunning early strike set the tone in a 2-0 win over France. Germany have sunk to their lowest world ranking since 2006 after a dreadful 2023, but another positive result on Tuesday will doubtlessly lead to a considerable spike in optimism ahead of Euro 2024.

The Netherlands put Scotland to the sword in their previous outing to extend their winning run to four games since October last year. Their qualifying campaign for the Euros was far from imperious, but the Dutch certainly have the sturdiness and creative guile to enjoy a prosperous summer in Germany.

Here’s 90min’s preview of Tuesday night’s friendly.

Germany vs Netherlands H2H record (Last Five Games)

Current form (all competitions)

Nagelsmann struck a fine balance with his starting XI on Saturday, but the former Bayern Munich manager is set to make changes to his team for this fixture.

David Raum, Max Beier and Pascal Gross are among the contenders to earn starts against the Dutch.

Toni Kroos, who starred on his return to the national team against France, could keep his place and partner Gross in the midfield pivot.

Germany predicted lineup vs Netherlands (4-2-2-2): Ter Stegen; Kimmich, Rudiger, Tah, Raum; Kroos, Gross; Gundogan, Wirtz; Havertz, Beier.

Ronald Koeman has a deep squad at his disposal and he’ll be keen to rotate from Friday night’s thumping of Scotland.

Brighton’s Bart Verbruggen and Bayern’s Matthijs de Ligt were unused subs last time out but could come into the team on Tuesday. Teun Koopmeiners is also in contention for a start in midfield, as is the red-hot Donyell Malen.

Netherlands predicted lineup vs Germany (4-3-3): Verbruggen; Dumfries, De Ligt, Van Dijk, Ake; Koopmeiners, Reijnders, Simons; Malen, Depay, Gakpo.

Nagelsmann’s coaching came to the fore for Germany on Saturday and they’ll be full of confidence heading into Tuesday’s game. Kroos’ return is huge and Nagelsmann’s winger-less approach allows Germany’s star playmakers to shine.

The Netherlands, however, represent a stern test given their defensive talent. They’ve kept four clean sheets on the spin and are also blessed with the speed on the counter-attack to hurt DFB-Team.

There’s often little to separate these two sides, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the pair share the spoils once again in Frankfurt.

Prediction: Germany 1-1 Netherlands

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