Hungary and the Netherlands will face off in the World Cup Qualifiers on Friday.
Hungary desperately needs to win this game if it has any hopes of winning a spot in the second-place playoff. The club has 14 points in eight games but only leads Turkey and Romania by one point in the race for second. While those teams face lesser opponents like Estonia and Andorra, Hungary has the most difficult draw and must make the most out of it.
Making things even worse is that the Dutch are facing a Hungary team currently locked in an intense battle with Turkey for Group D's second-place playoff spot, currently only a point ahead. That means the visitors won't be short on motivation, and will be as determined as ever to add three points to their Group D tally.
For the hosts, Robin van Persie is a notable early doubt with a toe problem, while Gregory van der Wiel, Jonathan de Guzman and Stijn Schaars pulled out of van Gaal's initial squad with injuries.
Netherlands vs Hungary October 11, 2013
Netherlands: Michel Vorm; Daley Blind, Bruno Martins Indi, Stefan de Vrij, Daryl Janmaat; Rafael Van der Vaart, Wesley Sneijder, Kevin Strootman; Jeremain Lens, Robin van Persie, Arjen Robben
Hungary: Ádám Bogdán; Vilmos Vanczák, Zsolt Korcsmár, Tamás Kádár, Richárd Guzmics; Tamás Hajnal, Ákos Elek; Balázs Dzsudzsák, Dániel Böde, Vladimir Koman; Krisztián Németh
Match Date/Time: Friday, 8:30 p.m. local, 2:30 p.m. ET
