Netherlands vs Japan Preview: Team News & Prediction | FIFA World Cup 2026 | Group Stage
At the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, three-time FIFA World Cup runners-up Netherlands kick off their campaign against an intriguing and enterprising Japan side.
Kick-off date/time:
How to watch on TV: UK – ITV / USA – FOX Sports
How to watch online: UK – ITVX / USA – FOX One
Netherlands preview: Koeman’s Oranje
Ronald Koeman and his Netherlands side weren't as impressive nor emphatic in qualification as many would have expected, despite the fact that the Oranje have what is quite a strong squad with a lot of depth, both in defence and in midfield but perhaps not up front.
They performed very well at their last major tournament and will take that into this summer in North America, reaching the semi-finals of UEFA EURO 2024 in Germany before being edged out by eventual runners-up England by two goals to one at the Westfalenstadion in Dortmund.
The Netherlands head into this summer on the back of a surprise 1-0 defeat to Algeria in Rotterdam before an unconvincing performance as they edged past Uzbekistan by two goals to one.
Japan preview: Enterprising Japan
Japan have suffered some serious and frustrating injuries in the build-up to FIFA World Cup 2026 but Samurai Blue have focused on an impressive production and development of talent which means they have a fair bit of depth to attack the tournament with.
They were extremely impressive in qualification. They head into the summer after a couple of impressive performances in defeating Scotland and England during the March international break, too, and will be a tricky opponent for anyone they come up against in this tournament.
Japan continued their strong start to the year with a third successive 1-0 win after those victories in March, defeating Iceland in late-May.
Netherlands team news: Timber out
There was an expectation that Ronald Koeman may try to accommodate his two excellent right-backs Jurrien Timber and Denzel Dumfries by playing Timber at centre-back alongside Virgil van Dijk and Micky van de Ven at left-back.
Timber has now been forced to withdraw due to injury and so it wouldn't be a shock to see a similar setup used but just with Jan Paul van Hecke now stepping in, with Stefan de Vrij and Matthijs de Ligt missing out on the squad due to injury.
Bart Verbruggen was forced off through injury against the Uzbeks and was viewed as a doubt but he has been passed fit, at the time of writing. Memphis Depay is seemingly unlikely to start up-front, having been injured for a while, albeit the versatile forward has been declared fit to play, and Frenkie de Jong also appears some way from absolute peak match fitness, albeit he did feature, strapped up, in their pre-tournament friendlies.
Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Verbruggen; Dumfries, Van Hecke, Van Dijk, Van de Ven; Reijnders, Gravenberch, De Jong; Malen, Brobbey, Gakpo
Unavailable:
Questionable:
Japan team news: Plenty of pre-tournament injuries
Much like the Netherlands, Japan have had to deal with several injuries of their own ahead of the tournament. After Kaoru Mitoma and Takumi Minamino missed out on the squad, captain Wataru Endo has now been forced to withdraw late on.
Hajime Moriyasu and the way in which Japan have developed their football in recent years means there is a lot of depth and so, while definitely hurt by that trio of absentees, remain in a strong position to be able to compete this summer.
Predicted XI (4-3-3): Z. Suzuki; Tomiyasu, Itakura, Watanabe, H. Ito; Kamada, Tanaka, Doan; Kubo, Ueda, J. Ito
Unavailable:
Questionable:
Netherlands’ top FIFA World Cup Fantasy assets
Denzel Dumfries ($5.7m) - Defender
Virgil van Dijk ($5.5m) – Defender
Tijjani Reijnders ($6.5m) – Midfielder
Matchday 1 captain pick: Denzel Dumfries
Set-piece duty
Penalties: Cody Gakpo, Memphis Depay
Free kicks: Frenkie de Jong, Cody Gakpo
Corners: Frenkie de Jong, Cody Gakpo
Japan’s top FIFA World Cup Fantasy assets
Takefusa Kubo ($7.0m) – Midfielder
Daichi Kamada ($5.8m) – Midfielder
Ayase Ueda ($7.0m) – Forward
Matchday 1 captain pick: Ayase Ueda
Set-piece duty
Penalties: Ayase Ueda
Free kicks: Takefusa Kubo, Ritsu Doan, Daichi Kamada
Corners: Takefusa Kubo, Ritsu Doan, Junya Ito
Key stats
- The only previous FIFA World Cup meeting between the Netherlands and Japan came in the 2010 group stage in Durban, where the Dutch won 1-0 through a Wesley Sneijder goal.
- The Netherlands are appearing at their 12th FIFA World Cup, having now qualified for eight of the last ten editions.
- Three-time runners-up, the Dutch contested the trophy decider in back-to-back editions in 1974 and 1978 and again in 2010. No other nation has been involved in as many finals without winning the trophy.
- Remarkably, the Oranje have tasted defeat in just two of their 33 group-stage outings at the tournament (including both first and second group stages). The only teams to have got the better of them in group-stage encounters are Scotland (1978) and Belgium (1994).
- The Netherlands haven’t been beaten in regular play at a FIFA World Cup since Spain edged them 1-0 in the 2010 final. Since then, their only exits have come via shootouts: first to Argentina in the 2014 semi-finals, then once more in the 2022 quarter-finals.
- The Netherlands have not lost their opening match at a FIFA World Cup since 1938, when they were eliminated in the first round by Czechoslovakia. Since then, their opening-match record stands at W7 D2 L0.
- Japan are contesting their eighth successive FIFA World Cup having been ever-present since their debut at France 1998.
- Japan have won their opening match in three of the last four editions of the FIFA World Cup, including 2-1 victories over Colombia in 2018 and Germany in 2022.
- Yuto Nagatomo is the first Japanese player — and the first Asian player — to reach five FIFA World Cup participations. An appearance here would see him tie the Asian record of 16 World Cup matches played, currently held by Hong Myung-bo (Korea Republic).
- At 39 years and 275 days, Yuto Nagatomo could become the oldest player ever to appear at a FIFA World Cup for an AFC nation, surpassing Tim Cahill, who was 38 years and 202 days when he played against Peru in 2018.
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Netherlands vs Japan prediction
Japan were impressive a few years ago. The Japanese defeated both Germany and Spain in Qatar, and are perhaps even better nowadays, too. The Dutch, with Koeman at the helm, will be quite proactive to watch and the same can be said for the East Asians. This could be one of the more entertaining opening games in this tournament's group stage with both teams scoring seeming a decent bet for this one in Texas. The Netherlands have an impressive looking defence on paper but it does appear as though Koeman is complicating things in his team selection, or at least heads into the tournament with a few dilemmas to work through. Japan will be slick and a threat and this one may end up being a fun watch in what is a very intriguing group alongside Sweden and Tunisia.
Netherlands vs Japan betting tip: Both teams to score
