Competing for a spot in the Nations League final.

The first team to reach the 2022/23 Nations League final will be determined after tonight's semi-final between the Netherlands and Croatia. This is the first time these two teams have met in over 15 years. The Netherlands reached the Nations League semi-finals four years ago, while Croatia is making its first appearance in the top four of the tournament.

The Netherlands were the most impressive team in the Nations League group stage, remaining undefeated and earning 16 points out of a possible 18. The team, nicknamed the Orange Tornado, also performed well at the 2022 World Cup, only being eliminated by eventual champions Argentina in a penalty shootout in the quarter-finals.

Following the tournament in Qatar, the Dutch national team underwent a significant change. Coach Ronald Koeman replaced his predecessor Louis Van Gaal. The transition was somewhat rocky, with Ronald Koeman suffering a 0-3 defeat against France in the EURO 2024 qualifiers. After that, the Netherlands won 3-0 against Gibraltar.

Netherlands vs Croatia Football Prediction: Competing for a spot in the Nations League Final - 1 — The Netherlands will face Croatia in the semi-finals of the UEFA Nations League 2022/23.

The first two matches don't reveal much about the Netherlands team under coach Koeman. However, the "Orange Tornado" is probably not much different from four years ago when they reached the Nations League semi-finals under the same coach. Now, the Netherlands squad is better and more experienced.

Croatia is not inferior to its opponent. In the last two World Cups, Croatia has reached the semi-finals. They also topped Group 1 of the UEFA Nations League 2022/23 – ahead of the reigning World Cup runner-up, France.

Croatia's squad remains largely unchanged from the 2022 World Cup, with the core players and head coach Zlatko Dalic still present. The team that finished third in the 2022 World Cup still has a few notable absences, but apart from Josko Gvardiol and Marko Livaja who are out due to injury, other players like Duje Caleta-Car, Josip Brekalo, and Mislav Orsic are not key players and are not in good form.

Meanwhile, the Netherlands will be without Memphis Depay, Steven Berghuis, Stefan De Vrij, and Jeremie Frimpong. However, their replacements are of good quality. Overall, both teams have enough players to create a closely contested match.