Rest or rhythm: Netherlands coach ponders options

• Finland not getting an easy ride from Belgium • Denmark looks to seize chance against Russi • Ukraine and Austria close in on round of 16

Netherlands coach Frank de Boer has a difficult decision to make for his team's final Group C match at the European Championship.

The answer is a bit of both. De Boer said Sunday he would make two changes to the team that beat Austria 2-0. He didn't say who would be rested.

The Dutch are already guaranteed of first place in the group after two wins and North Macedonia has already been eliminated after two losses, stripping Monday's game at the Johan Cruyff Arena of competitive significance.

Under De Boer's leadership, the Netherlands beat Ukraine 3-2 and downed Austria 2-0.

De Boer's key choice at the tournament was to play a system of three defenders, five midfielders and two forwards instead of the traditional Dutch setup of four defenders, three midfielders and three forwards.

He will set up the team the same way on Monday.

The player who has profited the most from the system is wing back Denzel Dumfries, who has scored two of the Dutch goals at the tournament and had a hand in the other three to become one of the surprise stars of Euro 2020.

The 25-year-old PSV Eindhoven player has been sprinting up and down the right flank for the Netherlands, carrying out both defensive and attacking duties.

North Macedonia, which lost to Austria 3-1 and to Ukraine 2-1, will be hoping to finish the nation's first international soccer tournament on a high.

North Macedonia coach Igor Angelovski applauded the way his team came back in the second half against Ukraine after being outplayed before the break. He wants to see more of the same in Amsterdam.

De Boer knows North Macedonia will be out to snatch a point or three with a result against the Netherlands. He pointed to the team's 2-1 victory over Germany in a World Cup qualifier earlier this year to underscore that Monday's opponent cannot be underestimated.

Finland not getting an easy ride from Belgium

Belgium has already qualified for the knockout stage of the European Championship so the world's top-ranked team will be taking it easy in its final group match against Finland.

Right? Not so fast.

The Finns' hopes for a somewhat easier ride as they go for an unlikely spot in the last 16 themselves have been foiled by team news emerging from the Belgian camp over the last few days.

While it will be a late decision on Lukaku — much will depend on how he has recovered from playing the full game in the 2-1 win over Denmark on Thursday — Martinez has made it clear the match against Finland will be important to gauge the fitness of De Bruyne, Hazard and Witsel after their recent fitness problems.

All three were second-half substitutes against Denmark and De Bruyne, in particular, showed no ill-effects after having minor surgery on facial injuries sustained in last month's Champions League final. A goal and an assist by the Manchester City midfielder secured the win that assured Belgium of a place in the round of 16.

It's not quite so ideal for Finland. A draw should be enough for Finland to advance, potentially as the second-place finisher in Group B, after collecting three points from a 1-0 victory over Denmark.

Losing by the same score against Russia on Wednesday left qualification in the balance but it is a position the Finns would definitely have taken if they had been offered it ahead of their first appearance at a major soccer tournament.

Finland and Russia both have three points. And both could be overtaken by the Danes if they beat Russia and Finland loses against Belgium.

Teemu Pukki, Finland's standout player, should be fit to start up front for a third straight game after being brought off in the 76th minute against Denmark and the 75th minute against Russia.

Pukki entered the tournament having just returned from an ankle injury.

Denmark looks to seize chance against Russia

After all that's gone wrong for Denmark at the European Championship, a win over Russia on Monday could still set a lot of things right.

Despite two losses — and the emotional trauma of Christian Eriksen's collapse — Denmark could still finish second in Group B with a victory over the Russians at Parken Stadium.

The Danes also need top-ranked Belgium to beat Finland in a game played at the same time. In that case, Denmark, Russia and the Finns would all finish on three points and second place would be decided by head-to-head goal difference between the three. Belgium has won both of its games so far.

The top two teams in each of the six groups advance automatically to the round of 16, along with four best third-place teams.

Hjulmand also pointed out that Portugal finished its group with three points in 2016 — albeit after three draws — before going on to win the tournament.

Russia likely only needs a draw to advance and showed vast improvement in a win over Finland after losing to Belgium 3-0. Goalkeeper Matvei Safonov, who replaced Anton Shunin for the Finland game, is expected to keep his starting spot after becoming a father this week.

Russia has looked shaky defensively and is still waiting for leading striker Artem Dzyuba to get off the mark in this tournament. But even though Russia can settle for a draw, Hjulmand didn't expect the visitors to play passively.

Russia, meanwhile, is unhappy that many of its fans may not be able to attend the game because they have to self-isolate when arriving in Denmark. The Russian embassy in Copenhagen accused the Danes of "double standards and Russophobia" after plenty of

Finnish and Belgian fans attended the first two games.

On the field, Denmark knows it has to take better advantage of its chances this time. The Danes outshot Finland 23-1 in their first game and had 22 total attempts against Belgium, but have only scored one goal.

Ukraine and Austria close in on round of 16

A draw might be enough for both, while a win would be a guarantee for either.

Ukraine and Austria each have one victory and one loss so far at the European Championship, and they will face each other on Monday both looking to advance from the group stage at the tournament for the first time.

For both teams, the forwards have provided the story at Euro 2020.

Andriy Yarmolenko and Roman Yaremchuk scored a goal each for Ukraine in the team's opening match, and then scored a goal each in the second as well. Those games are now in the past.

Despite the goals, Ukraine coach Andriy Shevchenko's concern in the previous match was that his team didn't score more, given the numerous chances his players created.

Ruslan Malinovskyi, for example, had an opportunity to put the game against North Macedonia out of reach with an 84th-minute penalty awarded after a handball. But the Atalanta midfielder ran up casually and placed a rising shot that goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski saved easily.

Shevchenko said defender Denys Popov has a calf injury and might miss what the coach called "a very, very difficult game ahead of us."

Austria scored three goals in the opening victory over North Macedonia, but then was shut out against the Netherlands. The team had to play the second match without the suspended Marko Arnautović, who has scored 27 international goals for Austria.