The Dutch will open Group F play against Japan on June 14 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Can three-time World Cup runner-up the Netherlands finally win soccer’s greatest prize?
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The Dutch are one of the tournament’s great nearly men, having lost back-to-back finals in 1974 and ’78 and then again in 2010. The Netherlands has been drawn against Sweden, Japan and Tunisia in Group F. They will be favorites to advance as group winners, but there are potential pitfalls — not least in the form of Japan, which stunned Germany and Spain at the 2022 World Cup.
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Sweden, NRG Stadium (Houston) Friday, June 19, 11 p.m. (FS1): Tunisia vs. Japan, Estadio BBVA (Monterrey, Mexico) Thursday, June 25, 6 p.m.
(FS1): Japan vs. Sweden, AT&T Stadium (Arlington, Texas) Thursday, June 25, 6 p.m. (Fox): Tunisia vs.
Netherlands, Arrowhead Stadium (Kansas City, Missouri) Sunday, June 14, 3 p.m. (Fox): Netherlands vs. Japan, AT&T Stadium (Arlington, Texas) Sunday, June 14, 9 p.m.
RELATED: Here's a look at the full schedule of matches for the 2026 FIFA World Cup The creators of so-called “total football” in the 1970s, the Netherlands has always been easy on the eye, but it has never been enough to get it over the line at a World Cup.
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Coach Ronald Koeman — in his second spell in charge of the national team — is hoping to end his country’s wait. He won major honors with the Netherlands as a player when lifting the European Championship in 1988 and he was a runner-up in the Nations League in 2019 in his last spell in charge.
The Netherlands can call on Premier League stars like Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch, Tijjani Reijnders and Cody Gakpo, but perhaps lacks some of the top-tier talent of previous generations.
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The useful takeaway is how this update affects teams, supporters, or match preparation before the tournament starts. Strong World Cup coverage should make the next team, fixture, or lineup implication clear.
Readers can use the related match and team pages to move from the news angle into practical tournament context. That keeps the article grounded in what fans search for before kickoff.