Alex MacQuoid
AZ Alkmaar open their July friendly campaign at home, hosting Belgian side Gent at the AFAS Stadion on the 4th of July. Lee-Roy Echteld takes charge of AZ as they prepare for the new season, and this match gives him a first real look at the squad in a competitive setting. Gent, under Rik De Mil, arrive having already played five friendlies this summer, giving them a slight edge in match sharpness. The interesting wrinkle here is that AZ have not played a single competitive match in the last 30 days, meaning this is effectively their pre-season opener, while Gent picked up a 6-1 win over Merelbeke just days ago.
One player to keep an eye on from the AZ side is whoever Echteld hands the creative responsibility to in midfield — AZ’s form across the year shows 13 wins from 28 matches, a decent enough record, but their recent run of five draws in their last seven league games suggests a team that was grinding through the end of a long season. For Gent, the attacking output in their last outing against Merelbeke will give De Mil confidence, though the 0-5 loss to Club Brugge earlier in the summer is a reminder of how much they can struggle against higher-quality opposition.
Hot stat: Gent have failed to score in three of their last five matches, including a pair of 0-0 draws against Genk and Royale Union SG and a 0-0 against a strong Club Brugge-level Union side. Their attack has been inconsistent at best this pre-season.
| 🏆 Tournament: | International Club Friendly 2026, July Phase |
| 🏟 Venue: | AFAS Stadion, Alkmaar |
| 🗓️ Date: | 04.07.2026 |
| ⏰ Time: | 16:00 CEST |
AZ Alkmaar vs Gent Prediction
This is a tricky match to call with confidence, mostly because AZ have zero competitive minutes logged in the last month and the player stats from both sides are unavailable for this period. That said, home advantage and a higher world ranking give AZ the structural edge. We think AZ win this one, though not comfortably. Pre-season friendlies at home tend to go in favour of the host when one side is significantly fresher in terms of squad preparation, and AZ playing at the AFAS Stadion adds a psychological boost for Echteld’s men in their first outing.
Gent’s style under De Mil has leaned toward caution in big matches — those back-to-back 0-0 draws against Genk and Union SG point to a team that sits compact and plays on the counter. Against AZ, who tend to build from the back and dominate possession at home, Gent may well set up defensively and look to nick something on the break. That makes a low-scoring match a reasonable expectation, honestly. AZ’s year stats show a 46% win rate from 28 matches, which is solid but not dominant, and their last five competitive results included three draws. Gent’s 33% win rate from 24 matches this year is modest, and their form string shows a cluster of draws and losses mixed with sporadic wins.
The foul and card data is unavailable for this pre-season window, but based on Gent’s general style — physical pressing, midfield aggression — and AZ’s tendency to play a structured 4-3-3 with technical midfielders, there could be some friction in the middle of the park. Pre-season referees tend to let things go a bit more, so yellow cards may not pile up even if the physical contact does.
| 🔥Hot Tip: | AZ Alkmaar to Win & Under 3.5 Goals |
| ⚽Total Goals: | Under 2.5 |
| 💥Both Teams To Score: | No |
| 🎯Total Corners: | Over 7.5 |
Team Analysis
AZ Alkmaar’s last five competitive results paint a picture of a side that was hard to beat but equally hard to back. A 5-1 win over Nijmegen was the standout, but that was sandwiched between a 0-0 against GA Eagles, a 2-2 with Twente, a 1-1 with Feyenoord, and a 3-3 with NAC Breda. Three draws and one win from the last four matches is not the form of a team firing on all cylinders. The NAC Breda result — a 3-3 at home against a side ranked 1268th in the world — is a particular eyebrow-raiser, suggesting AZ’s defensive shape was far from tight heading into the summer break.
Gent’s recent run is a genuine mixed bag. The 6-1 demolition of Merelbeke is the most recent result and the most encouraging, but Merelbeke are an amateur-level side ranked 11,861st in the world — so that scoreline needs serious context. Before that, Gent drew 0-0 with Genk, lost 0-5 to Club Brugge, drew 0-0 with Royale Union SG, and drew 1-1 with Sint Truidense. Four of their last five matches produced no more than one goal for Gent. That is a worrying pattern for a team travelling away in a friendly. The Club Brugge loss was heavy, and while it was against one of Belgium’s best, conceding five without reply raises questions about their defensive solidity when pressed high.
🚨Check out our dedicated AZ Alkmaar vs Gent stats page for more info.
Possible Starting Lineups
AZ Alkmaar Possible Starting Eleven
- GK: Rome-Jayden Owusu-Oduro
- DF: Ro-Zangelo Engel, Maxim Dekker, Milos Kerkez, Mees de Wit
- MF: Sven Mijnans, Stijn Spierings, Tijjani Reijnders
- FW: Mayckel Lahdo, Mexx Meerdink, Ruben van Bommel
AZ are likely to set up in their familiar 4-3-3 under Echteld, with a focus on getting minutes into legs that have been resting since the end of the Eredivisie season. Ruben van Bommel is worth watching — still young but increasingly influential in AZ’s attacking third. Sven Mijnans provides the technical base in midfield and will likely dictate tempo. Given this is a pre-season opener, expect rotation in the second half, so the starting lineup quality may not reflect the full 90 minutes.
Gent Possible Starting Eleven
- GK: Davy Roef
- DF: Alessio Castro-Montes, Wataru Ito, Michael Ngadeu, Archie Brown
- MF: Sven Kums, Andreas Hanche-Olsen, Matisse Samoise
- FW: Tarik Tissoudali, Gift Orban, Hyunseok Hong
De Mil will likely line Gent up in a 4-3-3 or a compact 4-2-3-1, with Sven Kums providing experience and composure in midfield. Gift Orban is the name to watch in attack — pacey and direct, he is the kind of forward who can exploit space on the counter, which is exactly how Gent may look to play here. Davy Roef in goal has been reliable across the pre-season. Like AZ, expect heavy rotation from Gent after the hour mark.
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Gent. Source: Official Facebook. Edited photo
TipsGG Match Prediction
We are backing AZ Alkmaar to win this friendly at home. The reasoning is straightforward: they are the higher-ranked side, playing on their own pitch, and Gent’s away form this pre-season has been poor — three consecutive 0-0 draws away from their base before the Merelbeke romp tells you something about how De Mil’s team travels. AZ’s end-of-season form was inconsistent, sure, but pre-season brings a reset in mentality, and Echteld will want a positive result in front of the home fans. The under 2.5 goals market also looks sensible given both teams’ defensive records in recent weeks. Gent have scored in only two of their last five matches against opposition of any quality. We think AZ win 2-0 or 2-1, with the goals coming in a relatively open first half before both sides rotate.
