Netherlands vs Ecuador prediction 31.03.2026 | Friendly

The Netherlands never won the World Cup title, but they remain one of the most respectable teams with three finals. Four years ago in Qatar, they reached the quarterfinals, and anything worse than that wouldn't satisfy them in the upcoming tournament. The Netherlands have been excellent lately, with five wins and one draw in the last six games. A few days ago, they won 2-1 at home in a friendly against Norway. The hosts ended with xG of 2.07, while the guests had only 0.83, underlining that the win was fully deserved.

Although the Netherlands beat Norway in a friendly, defender Virgil van Dijk wasn't enthusiastic about the team's performance. He said, "There is still work to be done. In spells, it went well, but at other times, less so. I thought we were better in the ​second half, partly because they were a bit ‌more tired. Ultimately, we had enough chances to score more goals. Defensively, we were also solid. We won deservedly, and now we move on."

The tournament in North America this summer will be the fifth in the last seven World Cups for Ecuador. In Qatar, they ended the competition in the group phase and will see progressing to the knockout phase as the primary goal. Ecuador are without a defeat in the last 16 matches. However, they had two wins and eight draws in the previous ten games. On Friday, in their most recent outing, Sebastian Beccacece's team played 1-1 in Madrid against Morocco. That was another typical Ecuadorian performance, with a strong, well-organized defense but also many problems in creativity. 

Ecuador's main problem is their poor attack. They scored only six goals in the last ten matches. Luckily, Ecuador's defense is world-class, but without goals, they will have big problems matching ambitions in the upcoming tournament.