France and the Netherlands will face off in an international friendly on Wednesday.
This will be the 23 meeting between the two sides. The Dutch have won 10, lost nine and draw four against France. The Netherlands have won two of the last three but France won the previous three; the most recent match was a 4-1 win for the Netherlands in the Euro 2008. Since then both teams have moved in very different directions.
France faltered in the 2010 World Cup while the Dutch went all the way to final and lost against Spain. France then managed to make a run to the quarterfinals in the Euro 2012 while the Dutch lost all three games in that tournament.
More recently France was forced to compete in a playoff to get to the World Cup in Brazil while the Dutch annihilated Group C and claimed one of the first spots in the tournament.
France now enters the World Cup with a relatively "easy group" while Netherlands will have to take on Spain, Chile and Australia to advance to the knockout rounds.
Which side is better prepared for the challenges ahead?
France's Situation
The French have won four of their last seven but have incurred a loss and two draws. The team's main competition over the last few months has been decent but far from elite; Ukraine and Belgium were arguably the two best sides that France played in the last seven months. The team tied Belgium 0-0 in August and managed to best the Ukraine in 3-2 over the course of two matches. The team was embarrassed 2-0 in the first leg of the World Cup playoff but won 3-0 at home.
Karim Benzema has started to improve his play of late for France. Of course, the big star is Franck Ribery but injuries will likely keep him out of this one.
The French are still a work in progress at this point and are not seen as perennial contenders for the tournament. It will be interesting to see how they measure up against another "work-in-progress."
Netherlands' Situation
The Dutch have only played six matches since August and have managed three draws and three wins; the team has won its last three games against Andorra, Hungary and Turkey. It must be noted that the team tied Estonia thanks to a late strike from Robin Van Persie; otherwise that game would have been a shocking defeat.
The Dutch also tied Portugal in a friendly in August; that was their most competitive match in the recent stretch. Finally, Netherlands managed a scoreless draw against a solid Colombian side; the South Americans were actually the better side for most of that match.
The Dutch have Van Persie and Arjen Robben leading the charge but they are far from the dynamic side that made a run all the way to the World Cup final. Wesley Sneijder's form is in question and the team's defense is relatively inexperienced.
Player to Watch: Karim Benzema has been inconsistent for his country but has finally found his form for his club side. If he is at his best, then France will be potent offensively in this match.
The game can be watched online on ESPN 3 at 3 p.m. EST.
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