The UEFA Nations League quarterfinals bring us our match of the week, as the Netherlands
and Spain battle in Rotterdam today Sunday March 23, 2025.
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Match background
Spain, the reigning UEFA Nations League champions, earned their place in the quarterfinals in
emphatic style, topping Group A4 with an unbeaten record ahead of Denmark, Serbia and
Switzerland.
The Netherlands, meanwhile, finished second behind Germany in Group A3, winning just two of
their six matches and ending five points short of the pace set by ‘Die Mannschaft’.
The matches will be held at the Mestalla Stadium in Valencia on Sunday March 23. The latter venue is particularly poignant as it sees the Spanish national team play in Valencia for the first time since the devastating floods which hit the region in November last year.
The winners of this two-legged tie will face either France or Croatia in the semifinals, which will be
held in Germany or Italy in June.
What the teams are saying
Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman on the challenge of playing the defending champions:
“It will be difficult, and we know Spain is a really strong, good, big nation in football. But that will be
great because it’s the Netherlands against Spain… it’s high-quality, top football, and we’re looking
forward to playing against them.”
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente on the threat posed by the Netherlands:
“At this stage of the competition all the opponents are tough. It’s been a while since we faced the
Netherlands, who have great players, a great team, which was knocked out in the semifinals of the
Euros [last year]. It will be difficult, as it would have been against anyone.”
Players to watch
Netherlands: Justin Kluivert
The son of Patrick Kluivert, who scored 40 goals for the Dutch national team, Justin Kluivert has
stepped out of his father’s shadow this season due to a brilliant campaign for AFC Bournemouth in
the Premier League, and he will hope to make major strides for the ‘Oranje’ in these clashes
against Spain.
Spain: Lamine Yamal
The Barcelona sensation has enjoyed a fantastic season in 2024-25, underlining his status as
arguably the most exciting young player in world football. Yamal will hope to add to his haul of 17
caps and three goals for ‘La Furia Roja’ as they head into this quarter-final clash against the
Netherlands.
Head-to-head
In head-to-head stats, the Netherlands and Spain have met in 13 matches dating back as far as
1957, with the ‘Oranje’ claiming six wins compared to five for ‘La Furia Roja’, while two games
have been drawn.
The teams last met in an international friendly in November 2020 which ended 1-1 at the Johan
Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam – with goals from Sergio Canales and Donny van de Beek.
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Broadcast details
Sunday March 23
21:45: Spain v Netherlands (second leg) – Live on SuperSport Premier League and
SuperSport Maximo 2
