Netherlands – Japan

The meeting between the Dutch and the Japanese will surely be productive.

The Netherlands national team is considered one of the most ambitious but unlucky participants in World Cups. The Oranje are the only team in football history to have lost all three World Cup finals in which they participated. However the dreary statistics of the Netherlands' past attempts to win the trophy are unlikely to worry Ronald Koeman and his players much. Traditionally, for the World Championship the Oranje have brought top stars, focused on one goal - to win the long-awaited trophy. In qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, Koeman's team had no trouble dealing with opponents and qualified for the tournament from the top of their group, not losing a single match in it. Japan has qualified for World Cups seven times and more than half the time has reached the Round of 16. Unfortunately, the second knockout stage has never come to them. Japan easily progressed to the decisive stage of the Asian qualifiers. In that stage, the Samurai also proved themselves a dominant force, losing only one of ten matches. Moreover, the defeat in Australia occurred after the Japanese had already secured first place and a direct berth to North America. Bookmakers have set the nominal hosts as favorites for the upcoming match, offering odds of 1.99 on their victory. While the Netherlands confidently qualified for the World Cup and have players of serious caliber, they should not be overestimated. The opposition in the qualifying group was plainly weak, and two friendly matches before the start of the World Cup left a mediocre impression of the Oranje's play. They lost to Algeria and beat Uzbekistan in a hard-fought match 2-1. The current Japan squad looks like one of the strongest in history. The team's preparation for the start of the world championship has elicited enthusiasm. The Japanese have won all six friendly matches since mid-October last year, and among the teams defeated were Brazil and England. Moreover, Thomas Tuchel's team lost to the Asian representatives at a packed Wembley Stadium in London. It is unlikely that the Netherlands will be able to defeat well-prepared opponents.