Stopping Frenkie De Jong key to Irish hopes of hindering Dutch

Unofficially at least, 'McAteer' comes up as an option in the thesaurus when Dutch football supporters are looking up an equivalent for "the shivers".

As De Volkskrant football journalist and The Guardian contributor Bart Vlietstra put it on this weekend's bonus episode of the RTÉ Soccer Podcast, "We will never forget that was an astonishing game at Lansdowne Road."

That afternoon 22 years ago was one of the high water marks for Irish football and a low point for the leading nation from the Low Countries, but that's all very much in the rearview mirror now.

As the Netherlands return to Dublin on Sunday for their first competitive fixture on the site of the old Lansdowne Road stadium since that famous 2002 World Cup qualifier, Ronald Koeman's side have rediscovered their groove somewhat after a slow start to the Euro 2024 qualifiers.

Meanwhile, Stephen Kenny's Ireland are in desperate need of a win to salvage any hopes of a top two finish in Group B after losing 2-0 to France in Paris on Thursday night.

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The Dutch lost 4-0 to the French in their group opener but since then have beaten both Gibraltar and Greece 3-0, the latter in Eindhoven on Thursday proving to be their best performance of the campaign to date, according to Vlietstra.

It's a game which saw Koeman abandon the quintessential Dutch 4-3-3 he had reverted back to and move towards what is increasingly viewed as Netherlands' most suitable system, a 3-5-2 that gives defensive stability anchored by captain Virgil van Dijk as