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Netherlands v Japan: World Cup 2026 – live | World Cup 2026
Key events
14 min The indefatigable Maeda spins away down the left and wins a corner off Dumfries. Nothing comes of the corner, but Japan comes again down the left. Kubo plays in the underlapping Nakamura, whose dangerous low cross towards Maeda is crucially cut out at the near post by Van Hecke.
11 min Netherlands have come closest to scoring but Japan have been better on the ball. As they pop it around in midfield, the great commentator Jon Champion delivers an excellent stat on ITV: this is the first time the Netherlands have started a World Cup game without a player from their own domestic league.
8 min Maeda pulls into space on the left and hits an early cross that is swept away on the bounce by Van Dijk.
It’s been a bright and breezy start, with both teams going for it.
6 min Nakamura beats Van de Ven on the left wing and is pulled back. That could easily have brought a yellow card. Don’t ask me why Van de Ven was temporarily playing right-back, because I have no idea.
3 min: Fine save by Suzuki!
After a long, windng move from the Netherlands, Malen receives the ball just inside the area with his back to goal. In a flash he rolls Taniguchi and whacks a shot that is punched over the bar by Suzuki.
At first it looked a great save but in fact Malen’s shot, though very well struck, was pretty close to the keeper. He still had to sort his hands out and get the ball out of a dodge, a task he performed excellently.
1 min Peep peep! Netherlands, dressed in brilliant orange, kick off from left to right as we watch. Japan are wearing their blue home strip; and whether you’re into the game or into fashion, the Japan Home Kit is a piece that shows ambition and pride with subtlety. With a wave-inspired white graphic on deep blue, this kit is a nod to national identity – made to inspire you to go beyond the horizon.”
“I followed Andrew Goudie’s link to Joachim Klement’s analysis and, even though it’s by an economist, it’s a cracking read,” begins Charles Antaki. “Sample:
Group D is the most evenly matched group of all … It will all depend on the form on the day who will succeed, but I think the Australians will summon their cricket spirit and win the group in the same way they win the Ashes – mostly due to the ineptitude of their opponents, and if that isn’t enough, then cheating.
“He’s also willing to predict that ‘Japan will win against Brazil’ .. though he does go on to claim that it’ll be ‘one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history’, which looks a bit charitable to Brazil at the moment.”
A reminder of the teams
Netherlands (4-3-3) Verbruggen; Dumfries, Van Hecke, Van Dijk, Van de Ven; Gravenberch, De Jong, Reijnders; Summerville, Malen, Gakpo.
Subs: Roefs, Flekken, Geertruida, Ake, Wieffer, Hato, De Roon, Kluivert, Til, Q Timber, Koopmeiners, Weghorst, Depay, Lang, Brobbey.
Japan (3-4-2-1) Z Suzuki; Watanabe, Taniguchi, H Ito; Doan, Sano, Kamada, Nakamura; Kubo, Maeda; Ueda.
Subs: Osako, Hayakawa, Sugawara, Itakura, Nagatomo, Seko, Tomiyasu, J Suzuki, Tanaka, K Ito, Y Suzuki, Machino, Goto, Ogawa, Shiogai.
Referee Ismail Elfath (USA)
“Ah, Mogwai,” purrs Matt Dony. “Magnificent. Been reminding myself of their genius recently. Ceiling Granny from 2021’s As The Love Continues is a better Smashing Pumpkins song than anything Billy Corgan has written in the last 20 years.
“Similarly, in Liverpool’s title season (feels a long time ago), Ryan Gravenberch was a better Claude Makelele than almost any other player has managed in the last 20 years. I hope he can bring that energy, disruptiveness and ball-playing to this tournament.
“I’m hoping the Netherlands go far. Mind you, Japan are always a likeable team, too. Argh, I don’t know! Let’s simply hope it’s entertaining!”
May nothing but happiness come through your door.
“‘An entire postcode of imaginary farms’ sounds like a chapter in Cruyff’s autobiography, tbh,” writes James Humphries. “One of the later ones just before he unretires, I guess.”
You need space to teach people Total Football, mate, and you need an imagination too.
“I was in the middle of writing a witty message on the mathematician who claimed the Dutch would win, only to see that somebody has beaten me to it,” writes Eva Maaten. “Oh well. But, I can share with you the reaction of my Dutch husband and half-Dutch daughter which one of slightly amused disbelief – not much confidence in this Dutch team.”
Let’s accentuate the positive: if this relatively unfancied Netherlands side win the World Cup, we’ll know for sure that Joachim Klement’s model is bulletproof. And I’ll own an entire postcode of imaginary farms.
A couple of DMs to look out for tonight
Spain, who are going to win the World Cup since you asked, get their campaign under way against Cape Verde tomorrow. Sid Lowe’s preview is as readable as ever.
“After seeing that Curacao are as good as the 2014 Brazil side, I am now all set for this mouthwatering contest,” writes Krishnamoorthy V. “Will this be the first goalless draw of the tournament? Or an engaging 2-2 draw? I will settle for anything if someone can recreate the Bergkamp magic just one more time.”
Fun fact: in a world of VAR, Bergkamp would have been suspended for the France 98 quarter-final against Argentina.
“German economist Joachim Klement’s mathematical model has predicted the winner of every World Cup since 2014, and this time he’s predicting the Netherlands to beat Portugal in the final,” writes Andrew Goudie. “I’m all for a bit of maths, but in this case I think I’d prefer my predictions done by an octopus.”
That slimy fraud has been winging it for years. And as for Paul the Octopus, etc.
(But seriously, three winners in a row is pretty persuasive. If I had a farm, I’d be tempted to put in on the Netherlands.)
Full time: Germany 7-1 Curaçao
For David Narey v Brazil in 1982, read Livano Comencia v Germany in 2026. Don’t poke the thing!
The New York Knicks’ NBA glory has absolutely nothing to do with the World Cup – but only if you take these things literally. In Manhattan right now, it’s an essential part of the 2026 World Cup story.
On Haiti v Scotland
William MacGregor, 41, from Dumbarton, described the post-goal atmosphere as “bouncing … Drinks were flying everywhere when the goal went in. Not mine, I kept mine.”
“Thoroughly looking forwards to this,” says James Humphries. “Japan are great fun every time I watch them and my understanding is that the Dutch aren’t defensively at their best, so could be the game of the tournament so far.
”I hope it’s exciting, anyway, because, I didn’t get to my pit till about half five last night (along with about half the population of Glasgow, given the number of cheery wasters I passed on the way) and then had to get up at ten to go take my daughter swimming; if I was about ten years older, medics would probably describe my current mental state as “a bit confused”, in the sort of tones used to tell family members news that could be worse but still nonetheless isn’t great.
“So, um, what… what was I talking about, again?”
Cheery wasters? Japan? Something like that.
Matthew Engel
The connection between King Lear and the 1966 World Cup is little known, mainly because it affected very few people at a now defunct boarding school. I had been a surprise selection to act in the school’s production of Lear (yes, I played the Fool; yes, I was typecast). The day before one of the performances I fell and twisted something and was a doubtful starter for a part that required a lot of dashing about.
Matron prescribed sleeping pills. That night England were playing Mexico in that now-sanctified tournament – almost a must-win after a goalless start against Uruguay. I went to bed early, tucked my transistor under the pillow to hear the commentary, went spark out and only heard the result next morning: England 2 Mexico 0. The rest is national history.
Team news
Ronald Koeman sticks with the same XI that beat Uzbekistan 2-1 in the Netherlands’ final pre-tournament friendly. Memphis Depay, who is fit again, starts on the bench. Crysencio Summerville, who only made his international debut last week, begins on the right wing.
Nine of the Japan XI started their victory at Wembley in March. The exceptions are Takefusa Kubo and Celtic’s Daizen Maeda, who come in for Junya Ito and the sadly injured Kaoru Mitoma. The World Cup is a whole lot poorer for his absence.
Netherlands (4-3-3) Verbruggen; Dumfries, Van Hecke, Van Dijk, Van de Ven; Gravenberch, De Jong, Reijnders; Summerville, Malen, Gakpo.
Subs: Roefs, Flekken, Geertruida, Ake, Wieffer, Hato, De Roon, Kluivert, Til, Q Timber, Koopmeiners, Weghorst, Depay, Lang, Brobbey.
Japan (3-4-2-1) Z Suzuki; Watanabe, Taniguchi, H Ito; Doan, Sano, Kamada, Nakamura; Kubo, Maeda; Ueda.
Subs: Osako, Hayakawa, Sugawara, Itakura, Nagatomo, Seko, Tomiyasu, J Suzuki, Tanaka, K Ito, Y Suzuki, Machino, Goto, Ogawa, Shiogai.
Referee Ismail Elfath (USA)
Jonathan Wilson
In 2002 there was a sense that Japan had slightly missed an opportunity. South Korea may have enjoyed the benefit of some favourable refereeing, but they also impressed. They were quick, technically good and tactically extremely flexible and they progressed to the semi-final of their home World Cup.
Japan did not do much wrong, topping their group before going down 1-0 to Turkey in the last 16, but the contrast with their co-hosts was inevitably underwhelming.
Although Park Ji-sung and Lee Young-pyo earned moves to PSV off the back of South Korea’s performances, and subsequently joined Manchester United and Tottenham respectively, Japan already had four players with European clubs, although one of them, Junichi Inamoto, had briefly returned to Gamba Osaka from his loan at Arsenal before leaving for Fulham. He never played a league game for Arsène Wenger, his next permanent move taking him to West Brom, where he struggled to make an impact.
The poor Japanese journalist whose job it was to cover him became a great figure of sympathy. The final question of each of Bryan Robson’s pre-match press conferences would always be him asking politely about Inamoto’s progress in training – at least until the moment, after almost two years, when he finally snapped and demanded, with despairing incredulity: “Mr Robson, why do you pick Darren Carter?”
Germany are cruising to victory over Curacao in today’s first game. But whatever the score, the match will be remembered for the greatest moment of Livano Comenencia’s career.
GOOOOOAAAAAALLLL! Germany 1-1 Curacao (Comenencia 21)
Do not adjust your screen! This is actually happening! And you know what? It’s almost been coming! Again, Curacao attack, slipping a pass into the box, and when the ball breaks to Locadia, he shoots, the effort blocked, but Comenencia arrives on to it, his shot flicks off a Kimmich, the deflection taking it over Neuer’s hands, and CURACAO HAVE LEVELLED IT AGAINST GERMANY! THIS IS WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT, AND IMAGINE THE SOUTH CARIBBEAN RIGHT ABOUT NOW!
Team guide: Japan
By Takashi Ogami
Japan are no longer at a stage where speaking openly about “winning the World Cup” invites ridicule. Their historic victories over Germany and Spain in 2022 proved that they are capable of producing much more than just a one-off upset. Over nearly eight years in charge the head coach, Hajime Moriyasu, has built a side capable not merely of surviving against the world’s elite, but of defeating them too. This was backed up by wins against Brazil in October and England – at Wembley – in March.
The expected system is a 3-4-2-1, though Japan also experimented with a 3-1-4-2 against England, suggesting tactical flexibility depending on the oppostion. Pressing aggressively from the top is important, with players such as Takefusa Kubo, Ritsu Doan, Keito Nakamura and Junya Ito all excellent at putting pressure on opponents.
Hopes are high back home, though, and the former Japan coach Akira Nishino, who led the side at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, says of the current squad: “It’s not about individuals acting like egoists. This group of players fight together and within that unity, individuality emerges. There is a strength in these ‘Japanised’ individuals.”
This team genuinely believe they can win the World Cup.
Team guide: Netherlands
By Marcel van der Kraan
Has Ronald Koeman ever started a major tournament with more headaches? Probably not. He is known as an exceptionally ambitious perfectionist, which means the preparation for this World Cup has been the most troublesome of all his years as the national-team head coach.
Injuries are part and parcel of the game but it becomes a real problem when, in the run-up to a major tournament, around half the starting XI is either ruled out completely or sidelined for months. In the spring Koeman said he would only take players who were fully fit and playing regularly, but that stance became difficult to maintain.
Tottenham’s Xavi Simons suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in April and won’t be back until next year. The PSV midfielder Jerdy Schouten is also recovering from the same injury. Matthijs de Ligt, who has often partnered Virgil van Dijk in central defence, has not regained full fitness after a back problem.
Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong missed most of the season, Inter’s Denzel Dumfries was out for four months. Manchester City’s Tijjani Reijnders and Nathan Aké were often on the bench while Memphis Depay sustained a serious hamstring injury at the end of his season in Brazil.
Preamble
Hello, how do you do and welcome to live, minute-by-minute coverage of Netherlands v Japan in Texas. This is one of the most enticing games of the group stage, a cruiserweight contest between two teams who are desperate to break new ground at the World Cup.
The Netherlands are probably the best team never to win the World Cup and definitely the only team to lose three finals without winning one. Japan are surely the best team never to reach the quarter-finals.
They look in good shape to right that particular wrong. Since completing their qualification campaign a year ago, Japan won have nine of their 12 games, including first ever victories over Brazil and England. Now they’re hunting a first win over the Netherlands.
If Japan are the hipster’s choice at this World Cup, then the Netherlands continue to go under the radar. The squad doesn’t have the same stardust as more famous Dutch teams, but their recent record is strong. They lost to the eventual winners Argentina in the quarter-final of the last World Cup and went toe-to-toe with England before losing a dramatic Euro 2024 semi-final.
This is a tricky group, which also includes Sweden and Tunisia, so a draw tonight would be a decent result for Netherlands and Japan. Let’s hope they’re not thinking that way.
Kick off 3pm local/4pm EDT/9pm BST.
The family of Shaun Burton, say they are “devastated” by the loss.
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Key events
In the opening half an hour against Cape Verde, Mikel Oyarzabal, the centre-forward, did not get a single touch.
Kyle Green gets in touch: “Your highlighting of Lalas and his absurdity is something that has prevented me from wanting to watch the coverage on Fox. While every channel has its pros and cons I just can’t.
“I’m 45 and probably the youngest of anyone who remembers him as a player instead of an opinionated insert insult here. As for the match this could be more competitive than it looks on paper Spain need a win the pressure is on them. Saudi Arabia could hold out for a draw and see what happens in their last match. “
News from the England camp, and it seems to be good news on Declan Rice.
“I’m ready and fit, raring to go. I was feeling a little bit of neural pain in my hamstring, which I was managing from after Christmas with Arsenal for a very long time. Obviously, not a lot of people would have known that. It was all behind-the-scenes stuff but it was a smart decision.
“In the end, that last 20 minutes is probably where you pick up the most, and it’s where you play a 70-minute match. But that last 20 is where you really feel your body going for it. And I think it was a smart decision because the last few days I felt really, really good.”
Alex Reid has penned today’s weekend special Football Daily.
Portugal v Uzbekistan on Tuesday enticingly pits the incredibly nice, incredibly 41-year-old-superstar-tolerant Roberto Martínez against Fabio Cannavaro, who’s won a Ballon d’Or as a player and the Chinese Super League as a coach. While the fixture following that game really does see the dream of Thomas Tuchel – in his first international job with England – taking on Queiroz, who is in charge of his ninth national side with Ghana.
The expected formations are 4-2-3-1 for Spain, and 5-3-2 for the Saudi Arabians.
The Saudi team features two Donis changes: Ali Lajami, a defender, and Nasser Al Dawsari, a midfielder, are preferred to Mohammed Abu Al Shamat and Mohamed Kanno. You may recall Salem Al Dawsari, the Saudi captain, as the man who scored the winner against Argentina.
An entertaining read, even for those of us who have just seen the clips.
In a conversation where his co-panelist is casually reminiscing about his days playing alongside Messi or exchanging shirts with Ronaldo Nazário at the World Cup, what exactly is Lalas going to talk about – coming on as a second-half substitute for Earnie Stewart in a friendly against Scotland in 1998? Helping the Kansas City Wizards finish last in the 1999 MLS Western Conference? Did Lalas enjoy an elite playing career? No. But does he do the background reading that could compensate for his relative lack of standing in a conversation with titans like Henry and Zlatan? Also no. But is he charming or funny or charismatic or otherwise magnetic on screen? Eh, no.
For the record, I once interviewed Alexi Lalas on the challenge of playing against Romario in the 1994 World Cup. He had this to say:
“He could kill you in so many different ways. If you remember from that World Cup, he scored so many types of goals. That ranged from solo adventures to an outside-of-the-right-foot half-volley off a corner kick. Romario was both the most difficult to play against and the best that I have faced.
“Roberto Baggio was doing his thing, but in terms of consistency and living up to the hype, he [Romario] was the best. As with all stars, there was a moment when the fans sit up in their seats, and that was a feeling I got with Romario. When it got close to him and the potential for his involvement in a play was there, everybody sat up in their seat. They knew that something spectacular would be happening.”
Saturday’s match reports here.
The Saudi Arabia coach, and Blackburn legend, Georgios Donis, spoke about the challenges facing his team: “Spain is not the same team when Yamal or Williams are on the bench.
“While they still have plenty of possession, they lack the individual one-on-one penetration when these two are missing. I’m not saying it’s a problem for Spain, but when those players are missing, they play in a different way. We saw this very clearly against Cape Verde.
“We are playing against one of the best teams in the world, and it’s very important that when you play against these kinds of teams, you should enjoy the experience and respect the opponent, but not too much.
“It is very hard for any team playing against Spain to have any time in possession. So what we must do is to be more in control of our movement and compact, and when the ball goes through the lines, be able to defend dynamically.
“It’s nice to see miracles in football, and we’ve seen favourites losing against underdogs. Of course, it’s great for Saudi football to have a great memory of the result against Argentina, but we aren’t drawing anything from that.
“I think we’ll feel more pressure in that [Cape Verde] game than we will against Spain.”
The Spain coach, Luis De La Fuente had this to say in his Saturday press conference: “This generation of footballers is highly competitive and really fired up… It’s going to be a completely different story,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Saturday. There is no drama or crisis. The bottom line is simply that we need to win tomorrow.”
Four changes for Spain: Lamine Yamal, Pedro Porro, Dani Olmo and Alex Baena also come into the side with Marcos Llorente, Fabian Ruiz, Ferran Torres and Gavi dropping out.
The teams – Lamine Yamal starts
Spain: Simon, Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella, Gonzalez, Rodri, Yamal, Olmo, Baena, Oyarzabal. Subs: Raya, Joan Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, Eric Garcia, Llorente, Merino, Torres, Fabian, Gavi, Pino, Williams, Zubimendi, Munoz, Iglesias.
Saudi Arabia: Al Owais, Abdulhamid, Tambakti, Lajami, Al Amri, Al Harbi, Nasser Al Dawsari, Al Khaibari, Al Juwayr, Al Buraikan, Salem Al Dawsari. Subs: Al Aqidi, Al Kassar, Majrashi, Yahya, Al Shehri, Al Boushal, Kadesh, Al Johani, Al Ghannam, Al Hajji, Al Hamdan, Mandash, Kanno, Thakri, Abu Al Shamat.
Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)
Perhaps one of the Saudi -players can write themselves into this high-grade selection?
Perhaps it can be their goalkeeper.
Madrid screening of Spain v Saudi Arabia cancelled due to heat
The public screening of Spain’s World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in Madrid on Sunday has been cancelled because of extreme heat forecast for the Spanish capital, officials said.
The match, due to kick off at 6pm local time on Sunday, had been scheduled to be shown on a giant screen installed by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) at a fan zone in Plaza de Colón in central Madrid.
Madrid city council and the federation decided to cancel the screening after national weather agency AEMET issued an orange heat warning – the second-highest level – for the Madrid region, with temperatures forecast to reach 40C.
“The decision has been taken with the aim of protecting the health of attendees, event staff and support services involved in the event,” Madrid city hall said in a statement, apologising for any inconvenience.
Officials urged supporters to watch the match indoors in air-conditioned spaces and avoid prolonged exposure to the heat.
Large parts of Spain are experiencing unusually high temperatures for June as a mass of hot air from North Africa moves across the Iberian Peninsula.
A total of 13 of Spain’s 17 regions are on orange alert for heat on Sunday, while the northern Basque Country bordering France is on red alert, the highest level.
Authorities advised residents and visitors to take precautions during the heatwave, including drinking water regularly, staying in cool environments, limiting outdoor physical activity during the hottest hours of the day and taking extra care of vulnerable people. AFP
Can Saudi Arabia repeat the magic of 2022?
Argentina arrived in Qatar on a 36-game unbeaten run. When Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 10 minutes, a comfortable afternoon seemed in the offing. Saleh al-Shehri and Salem al-Dawsari had other ideas, Argentina had three goals disallowed for offside in the space of 13 minutes and the greatest comeback in Saudi Arabia football history was made. Argentina went on to lift the trophy, while defeats to Poland and Mexico meant the Saudis did not reach the knock-out stage.
Unai Simon over David Raya is a controversial choice for De la Fuentes. The Arsenal keeper could lay claim to being Europe’s best this season.
“Those at the Champions League final had a few more days, so I got there on the Wednesday night,” Raya says. “I arrived a bit before Fabián [Ruiz]. I was saying hello to some of the others in reception when he arrived. I went to say congratulations; that was almost the first thing I did. I couldn’t really talk [to him] after the final; I just didn’t have it in me. The next day we talked about the game properly. Just two mates chatting … I was happy for him that he could lift the trophy for a second time.”
A high pressure game for the European champions, as Sid Lowe reports.
“If we had scored one, the game would have changed,” Martín Zubimendi said. Immediately after the game, De la Fuente had offered a simple analysis: when the ball doesn’t want to go in it doesn’t want to go in, he insisted. Spain had racked up 27 shots, after all. Ferran Torres had hit the bar and seen another clear opportunity saved. Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who stopped that, saved six more and was named the man of the match. “There’s nothing to reproach the team for,” Rodri said. “We generated chances but couldn’t put it away; the good thing is they created almost nothing.”
We wait to see what role Lamine Yamal will play today. His coach would surely like to be able to use him.
The worst mistake we could make would be to compare him to anyone. He is the midst of a process. He has exceptional footballing maturity and lives it all with total naturalness. He has great serenity and strength. We have to let him follow his path but those players who have something different are ready for that. They’re geniuses, like Dalí [who] can paint a picture, or Michelangelo. They’re different. What is exceptional to us, isn’t to them. In those extremes, they feel comfortable. Why? Because they are different. What we think is exceptional, they consider normal.
Preamble
Spain’s campaign did not get off to a flying start, and Luis de la Fuentes may wake up in the night to visions of Cape Verde’s Vozinha. He will have Georgia on his mind ever since Monday. Saudi Arabia are no pushovers and gave Uruguay a scare in their opening match. Memories of downing Argentina four years ago still abound, and so Spain might beware. They can ill afford to go into the final game with Uruguay at a disadvantage. All eyes on Lamine Yamal, whose fitness situation remains opaque, though Spain need their other forwards to come to the party.
Kick-off 5pm UK, 1pm ET, 2am AEST. Join me.
A topless man can be seen driving erratically in Edinburgh before abandoning his car and attacking a black man and a delivery rider.
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