Locked together on five points in League A Group 3 of the UEFA Nations League, the Netherlands and Hungary meet on Saturday in a winner-takes-all clash at the Johan Cruyff Arena.

preview

A 5-2 demolition of Bosnia-Herzegovina on the opening matchday was not a sign of things to come for the Netherlands, who have failed to win any of their last three games in the Nations League but still have their fate in their own hands before November's double-header.

Following back-to-back stalemates with Germany and upcoming foes Hungary, Ronald Koeman's men succumbed to a 1-0 defeat to the former in their most recent Group 3 showdown, where a 64th-minute strike from Mannschaft debutant Jamie Leweling proved decisive.

In spite of their mediocre set of results thus far, the Netherlands' tally of five points from a possible 12 is currently good enough for second place in the rankings; they lead Hungary on goal difference, but head-to-head results take precedence when it comes to separating tied teams.

With Bosnia-Herzegovina four points adrift of both sides at the bottom, the Netherlands will be assured of a knockout place if they overcome Hungary on Saturday, but defeat would extinguish their top-two chances and leave them at risk of demotion to League B.

However, Koeman's men could make their meeting with Bosnia on November 19 trivial should they conquer the Hungarians on Saturday, and they have only ever failed to score in one of their Nations League home games, a 1-0 loss to Italy in 2020.

The permutations are exactly the same for Saturday's visitors Hungary, even though Marco Rossi's men currently sit third on account of an inferior goal difference, as it is also win or bust for the Magyars as far as quarter-final qualification is concerned.

Sharing the Netherlands' record of one win, two draws and one defeat from their four encounters so far, albeit in reverse order, Hungary were crushed 5-0 by Germany in their League A opener but have managed to avoid losing in each of their last three battles.

Last month's respectable 1-1 draw with the Dutch preceded a 2-0 success over lowly Bosnia-Herzegovina, where two efforts from Liverpool star Dominik Szoboszlai either side of the half-time whistle propelled Rossi's side right back into quarter-final contention.

Reaching the quarter-finals would be the latest Nations League zenith for a country who started out in the doldrums of League C during the inaugural 2018-19 tournament, and they have previous when it comes to shock away wins in the competition, memorably thumping England 4-0 and defeating Germany 1-0 on the road in 2022.

October's two-goal stalemate with the Netherlands also ended a miserable nine-game losing streak for Hungary against the 2010 World Cup runners-up, but they have not overcome Saturday's hosts since 1984, where a Dutch side comprising Ruud Gullit, Marco van Basten and Frank Rijkaard were stunned in a World Cup qualifier.

Netherlands possible starting lineup:

Verbruggen; Dumfries, De Vrij, Van Dijk, Hato; De Jong, Gravenberch; Malen, Reijnders, Gakpo; Weghorst

Hungary possible starting lineup:

Dibusz; Dardai, Orban, Botka; Bolla, Nikitscher, Schafer, Kerkez; Sallai, Szoboszlai; Varga