Preview: Clash of Equals in De Kuip

It’s the first time ever that two teams enter the TOTO KNVB Cup Final with the exact same number of league points. That’s no comfort for AZ, though. In 2017, the Alkmaar side also faced a near-equal opponent in Vitesse — just one point and one place separated them — and ended up on the losing side.

AZ are heading into the final without a win in their last six matches in all competitions (3 draws, 3 defeats) — no team has ever reached the TOTO KNVB Cup Final winless in six games since the start of Dutch professional football in 1954. Still, AZ can look to recent history against Go Ahead Eagles for confidence: they’ve won 16 of the last 19 meetings (2 draws, 1 loss), with a winning margin of at least two goals in seven of the last eight. The most recent encounter ended 2-2, in October 2024.

AZ are playing in their eighth final, chasing a fifth cup title. For Go Ahead Eagles, this is only their second ever TOTO KNVB Cup Final appearance. The last time was sixty years ago, in 1965, when they lost 1-0 to Feyenoord. Only Vitesse had to wait longer between two cup finals (63 years, from 1927 to 1990). The Deventer side had a tough road to Rotterdam, defeating Sparta, FC Twente, VV Noordwijk and PSV — the first time they've ever knocked out three Eredivisie teams in a single cup run.

Watch the TOTO KNVB Cup Final live on your local broadcaster. On behalf of the Eredivisie: enjoy the match, and good luck to all fans of AZ and Go Ahead Eagles!