Netherlands vs Austria Prediction: Rebel Memphis Depay

The Netherlands arrived at EURO 2024 with many important absences, especially in midfield without the services of Frenkie de Jong, Teun Koopmeiners and Marten de Roon. That forced coach Koeman to find a formula to bring balance to the "Oranje" when falling into a group with strong opponents.

Koeman found a 4-2-3-1 formula with the central midfield pair of Reijnders and Jerdy Schouten with little international experience. Cody Gakpo is a sure-fire left-winger, while Xavi Simons is a right-winger or a 'number 10'. After the first two games, Frimpong seems to be guaranteed a right-winger position, as he did in some games against Bayer Levsekusen, as Koeman does not want to leave Dumfries on the bench.

These players are tasked with developing the ball towards the striker Memphis Depay. Not really outstanding at Atletico, with only 10 goals in the last 2 La Liga seasons (9 goals for Atletico, 1 goal with Barcelona), but Memphis is always the first choice for the Netherlands team.

Dutch football currently lacks good "number 9s". That explains why Koeman favors Memphis, even though he has only scored 3 goals in his last 14 internationals. In the past 15 months, with 6 official matches including 2 matches at EURO 2024, Memphis has scored only 1 goal.

Memphis arrived at EURO 2024 with the ambition of becoming the Netherlands' all-time top scorer. He has 45 goals in 94 games. Robin van Persie holds the record with 50 goals in 102 games for the Orange shirt. The ambition was not enough, as the Atletico player failed to show his best ball sense and positioning.

In his debut against Poland, Memphis had many good chances but all 4 of his shots were wide. Against France, he had 2 shots and 1 on target. In addition, he created 3 chances and all in the 2-1 win against Poland. This is really not a high performance.

Memphis is known for his rebellious streak. No one on the team has caught Koeman’s eye on and off the pitch like Depay. On the pitch, he has the ability to score incredible goals, while also squandering important moments. Off the pitch, Depay is unpredictable and can surprise his coach and teammates.

Memphis has given Koeman (and other Dutch coaches) headaches on several occasions with social media videos or comments. His social media behaviour has sometimes been embarrassing. For example, he was widely criticised in the Netherlands for supporting his friend and former teammate Quincy Promes, who was convicted of drug trafficking and stabbing his cousin.

"I think I have the qualities to help this Dutch team get better," Wout Weghorst sent a message to compete with Memphis. Weghorst, who only needed 20 minutes and 1 shot to score a goal for the Netherlands in the last 2 matches, declared that he wants to play more. If Memphis does not improve, the center forward role will most likely belong to Weghorst in the round of 16.