There are plenty of questions still to answer for England in the three months which remain until the beginning of their World Cup campaign, so while the result will be of little consequence tonight, it remains an important contest for the visitors. Netherlands will also see this as a big game as they look to rebuild after the disappointment of missing out on the World Cup, with Ronald Koeman taking charge of his first game at the helm this evening.

We will have a closer look at both a little later, but first let's check out the team news...

Well, we'll start with the visitors and, while we expected a certain amount of experimentation from Gareth Southgate tonight, his team selection is certainly unexpected. It is quite a bizarre choice as both Trippier and Walker start, in addition to Rose on the opposite flank.

Three full-backs and only two centre-backs in what we expect to be a 3-4-3 formation. It will be interesting to see how that works out!

That goalkeeper's jersey could be between as many as five players in these final months before the World Cup, with four currently in the squad and Tom Heaton coming back to fitness. Jordan Pickford gets the nod tonight, but he knows that he will have to be at his very best at every available opportunity to earn the spot on a regular basis.

Gomes has actually played as a full-back for the majority of this season too, so Stones is the only member of this starting XI who has regular experience of playing at the heart of the defence this season - and even he cannot get into the Man City team on a regular basis at the moment.

Jack Wilshere has stayed at home after picking up a knee injury, which hands a chance to Oxlade-Chamberlain in his preferred central midfield role, although he hasn't often featured in a 3-4-3 system with Liverpool this season.

Either side of him are Lingard and Sterling, who will need to help shoulder the goalscoring burden considering that Danny Welbeck (15) and Ashley Young (7) - both of whom are on the bench - are the highest England scorers in the current squad.

Arguably the main goal threat will come from Memphis Depay, though, with the former Manchester United forward having scored 13 goals in 43 appearances for Lyon this season and eight overall for Netherlands, making him the joint-highest scorer in the squad alongside Wijnaldum.

The hosts have also gone with a back three this evening as Van Dijk is joined by Liverpool target Stefan de Vrij and De Ligt, with debutant Hans Hateboer and Palace's Van Aanholt deployed as the wing-backs.

The likes of Robin van Persie, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Daley Blind are also absent from the latest squad, meaning that the most-capped player in the current setup is former Liverpool man Ryan Babel.

It was less than four years ago that Netherlands finished fourth at the World Cup in Brazil - humiliating Spain along the way in the group stages - but since then they have failed to qualify for two major tournaments in a row - the first time that has happened since 1982-86.

The qualifying campaign saw them drawn up against France and Sweden in Group A, and they eventually missed out to the Swedes on goal difference. The Dutch went into their final game against Sweden needing a seven-goal victory to qualify, but they only managed a 2-0 triumph.

Not since the 1980s slump after their Johan Cruyff-inspired success of the 1970s have Netherlands been on such a poor run, and the rebuilding job must now begin for Koeman.

Advocaat won six of his seven games in charge of the team before stepping down after November's friendlies, which saw him become the most successful Netherlands boss of all time in terms of wins, with his 37th as boss overtaking a 77-year-old record.

Another victory tonight would make it six on the bounce for the first time since their run to the World Cup semi-finals in four years ago, which would be a clear sign of them heralding in the return to good times.

The Dutch went through a spell of seven defeats and just one win in nine consecutive home games prior to the latest upturn in form, which has seen them win each of their last four, scoring 15 goals and conceding just once in the process.

The Dutch also have friendlies scheduled against fellow World Cup absentees Slovakia and Italy later this year before getting their UEFA Nations League campaign underway, which has seen them drawn against the mighty duo of France and Germany.

We're not too far away from being two years on from the infamous Iceland defeat in France, but the scars are still there for the fans and the players, and the only way to truly banish those demons is to redeem themselves at another major tournament. Very few people will be optimistic of England going too far this summer, but they will at least be hoping that they do themselves justice.

In fairness to Roy Hodgson's side, they were drawn in a very difficult group on that occasion, but they were still eliminated in the group stages for the first time since 1958, failing to win a single game along the way.

Southgate's side made minimum fuss in qualifying for the tournament, but their performance throughout that campaign were far from convincing and, while the results have been credible, Southgate's England are yet to really entertain at all so far.

However, when you dig a little deeper, the real difference between that group of teams is clearer. England won only four of their 10 matches by more than a one-goal margin, whereas Belgium and Spain both won seven, Portugal won eight and Germany won nine.

It was the same towards the end of the qualifying campaign in particular, which is why most fans will not be getting carried away by England's ongoing six-match unbeaten streak.

On the flip side, England's lack of entertaining matches does mean that their defensive record is good, and another clean sheet tonight would give them five on the bounce for the first time since 2006.

Italy are next up after this for England, meaning that the first two games of World Cup year for the Three Lions will come against the two most high-profile teams to be missing the tournament this summer.

This is a tough one to call as neither side are at full strength, and both are still in an uncertain phase where they are looking for their best setup. The England XI looks like a little too lopsided to have a real impact, though, so I am going to go for a 2-1 home win.

SPORTS MOLE SAYS: Netherlands 2-1 England

Netherlands have drawn four and won three of the seven since then, including both of the last two - most recently coming from behind to win 2-1 at Wembley in March 2016.

One of those draws came on England's most recent visit to these shores, with Jermain Defoe's second-half double cancelling out goals from Dirk Kuyt and Rafael van der Vaart as England came from two goals down to draw in August 2009.

Incidentally, that solitary defeat came under Graham Taylor in October 1993, when new Netherlands boss Ronald Koeman scored the opening goal via a free kick.

NETHERLANDS STARTING XI: Zoet' De Ligt, De Vrij, Van Dijk; Hateboer, Wijnaldum, Strootman, Van Aanholt; Promes, Dost, Memphis

ENGLAND STARTING XI: Pickford; Walker, Stones, Gomez; Trippier, Henderson, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Rose; Lingard, Sterling, Rashford

We remain goalless between Netherlands and England, with clear chances also at a premium at both ends of the field. England have been the better side and have enjoyed the lion's share of possession so far, but there haven't been any really gilt-edged chances.

The closest England have come to a goal came via captain Jordan Henderson, who flicked his header on from a free kick and sent the ball flashing just past the far post.

That said, the visitors have looked more like scoring than Netherlands, who have been rather toothless in their first game under Ronald Koeman. Pickford has been forced into a couple of saves, but both have been routine.

Often in these matches substitutes can hinder the rhythm of the game, but this one might actually need something from the bench to inject some life into it. England, with all the pace they have at their disposal, should be more exciting to watch than this.

It comes at the end of a nice move from the visitors too, with Lingard himself involved in a buildup which started with Pickford. Rose's low cross into the area is only cleared as far as Lingard, who is able to take his time, pick his spot, and stroke his finish past Zoet. The Netherlands keeper did get his hand to the ball and perhaps should have done better, but Lingard isn't complaining!

Jesse Lingard's first international goal was the difference tonight as England finally made the breakthrough shortly before the hour mark and, while it wasn't a match of huge quality once again, Southgate will be satisfied with his side's performance tonight.

Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's match as England begin World Cup year with a rare win in Holland courtesy of Jesse Lingard's goal. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction too.

From me, though, it is goodbye for now!