Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers match.
After two rounds in Group G, Finland sit second behind Poland, but that position may be short-lived. The Netherlands are set to join the action, with the UEFA Euro 2024 semi-finalists targeting nothing less than direct qualification for the World Cup.
Finland
Finland have collected four points from a possible six, a return that can be seen as underwhelming. In their opening match, they managed just one goal against Malta, the weakest side in the group. Despite having a numerical advantage from the 78th minute, Finland failed to add to their slender lead. The hosts had almost double the number of shots (19) compared to Finland (10). In the following game against Lithuania, they let a 2:0 lead slip away.
Netherlands
While Finland were engaged in group fixtures, the Netherlands were competing for a place in the UEFA Nations League semi-finals, ultimately being eliminated by Spain. Despite scoring five goals across both legs, they were eliminated after a penalty shootout in which they missed one more attempt than their opponents.
Finland vs Netherlands Prediction
Even so, given that the Netherlands managed to score at least twice in both matches against the reigning European champions, they are expected to find the net on at least two occasions against Finland as well. That should be enough to secure all three points. A similar outcome occurred in their 2011 encounter.
