The Netherlands were tipped as a World Cup dark horse last summer although Ronald Koeman's men stumbled at the first knockout hurdle. Xavi Hernandez now takes charge of the Dutch national side hoping to improve their fortunes and that starts with the Nations League. The Barcelona legend has plenty of players to form a successful team.
The Oranje are slight favourites to claim a victory over a Germany side who also have a new manager. Jurgen Klopp is a popular appointment to steer Die Mannschaft in a positive direction, with the former Liverpool man looking to play an exciting brand of attacking football. It could make for an entertaining clash.
Netherlands v Germany Betting Markets
All roads lead to Euro 2028 for Netherlands and Germany. The target will be to win this competition for these proud nations, both of whom fell short in the 2026 World Cup. The Dutch are the slight betting favourites to claim a Nations League win on Thursday 24 September, with this being the first of four matches being played during the international break.
The Netherlands' match odds of 2.25 suggest that Xavi Hernandez has a 45% chance of making a winning start to life in charge of the Oranje. The Spaniard comes into the role off the back of a coaching role at Barcelona where he was able to win the La Liga title in 2023. He stood down from that position in 2024 after previously being the manager of Al Sadd between 2019 and 2021.
Jurrien Timber should return to a squad which has plenty of quality players although it remains to be seen whether Wout Weghorst and Memphis Depay are given a call-up. There's some excellent strength in defence thanks to captain Virgil van Dijk along with new Tottenham Hotspur recruit Jan Paul van Hecke.
There were actually some bright performances at the World Cup, including a 5-1 group win against Sweden and a 3-1 success against Tunisia. Xavi might take some time to get his new side playing in the style he wants and the same applies to the Germany side which is now overseen by Jurgen Klopp. The former Liverpool manager was waiting in the wings during the summer and now replaces Julian Nagelsmann.
Germany bumbled their way into the knockout stage of the World Cup before meekly exiting the competition on penalty kicks against Paraguay. There were a number of retirements off the back of that disappointing campaign, with Manuel Neuer and Antonio Rudiger deciding to call it a day on long and illustrious stints representing their country.
Goals Under/Over
It's little surprise that Over 2.5 Goals is trading at short odds and the Nations League betting sites offer 1.57 that we see the net bulge at least three times. We might expect Netherlands and Germany to both take an attack-minded approach in this clash, with Xavi and Klopp wanting their respective teams to get on the front foot and go for goals.
There's not a great deal of form from which to feed considering that the World Cup happened months ago and both teams only ended up playing four games. Both of their knockout defeats involved a 1-1 draw before a penalty exit, although the Netherlands did play out three high-scoring group clashes including a 2-2 draw against Japan.
If you're expecting a really end-to-end game, then you could punch for Over 3.5 Goals where there's an odds-against quote available. Both managers might be fairly relaxed in an opener where there's little jeopardy and barely time to work with the players.
BTTS
Before we checked the BTTS Yes odds for this Nations League showdown between Netherlands and Germany, we estimated the price would be around the 1.50 mark or even slightly lower. It therefore comes as no surprise to find the bookies have this as their odds. It's hard to get too excited about this bet as a single but a Nations League BTTS Yes acca could certainly include this pick.
If you're able to find other BTTS Yes selections on the same day, then you can merge them together in a Nations League multiple bet. There's alternatively the chance to combine one of the teams to win with the above outcome. There's even the opportunity to perm the draw and it wouldn't be a surprise to find a 2-2 scoreline.
Can we make a case for BTTS No? The game might lack flow due to the number of substitutions which are likely to be made throughout the contest. It may also be the case that the Dutch defence is a good deal more stubborn under Xavi Hernandez than was previously seen with Ronald Koeman. Similarly, Jurgen Klopp may temper his usual attacking instinct in a bid to get the right result.
First Goalscorer
There's a little bit of guesswork when it comes to the identity of the players who will start the game. Kai Havertz is the first-choice forward for Arsenal and it's likely that Klopp will persist with the former Leverkusen forward. He has a decent enough record of landing twenty-five goals across sixty-two international appearances, with Deniz Undav potentially retained considering that the Stuttgart man has nine goals across thirteen caps.
Leroy Sane is now plying his trade with Galatasaray and may be included, with Florian Wirtz averaging a goal every four games for his country which is better than his Liverpool record. We also think Felix Nmecha will be a breakthrough star for the German national side and we should keen an eye out for the Borussia Dortmund man.
The Netherlands will put their faith in the reliable Cody Gakpo who has made a fast start to the season for Liverpool before picking up a small knock. There has been twenty-four goals scored by the 27-year-old across fifty-four appearances. Memphis Depay boasts a more formidable record although it remains to be seen whether the Corinthians man continues to have a future for his country.
