STAR WORLD CUP PREVIEW Sun: Netherlands v Japan

Group F favourites Netherlands get their World Cup underway with an intriguing clash against tournament dark horses Japan in the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Sunday night, writes WILLIAM KEDJANYI.

Ronald Koeman’s squad is packed with Premier League stars and, after a smooth qualifying campaign, there is genuine belief that the Oranje can go deep in this tournament.

However, they have been dealt a tricky opening fixture against a Japan side that caused quite a stir at the 2022 Qatar World Cup by beating both Spain and Germany in the group stages, before losing out in a penalty shoot-out to Croatia in the knockout phase.

Hajime Moriyasu’s talented side breezed through qualification – they didn’t concede a single goal in six second-round Asian qualification games – before completing a brace of friendly wins against England and Scotland in November.

It’s fair to say that the Blue Samurai are no strangers to downing big European names, and it would be no surprise if they added the Dutch to that impressive collection.

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Netherlands v Japan
FIFA World Cup Group F
21:00 ITV1

LAST FIVE STATS

HEAD-TO-HEAD
SEP 2022 FRIENDLY Netherlands 0-2 Japan
NOV 2013 FRIENDLY Japan 2-2 Netherlands
JUN 2010 WORLD CUP Netherlands 1-0 Japan
SEP 2009 FRIENDLY Netherlands 3-0 Japan

NETHERLANDS
JUN 2026 FRIENDLY Netherlands 2-1 Uzbekistan
JUN 2026 FRIENDLY Netherlands 0-1 Algeria
APR 2026 FRIENDLY Netherlands 1-1 Ecuador
MAR 2026 FRIENDLY Netherlands 2-1 Norway
NOV 2025 WC QUAL Netherlands 4-0 Lithuania

JAPAN
MAY 2026 FRIENDLY Japan 1-0 Iceland
MAR 2026 FRIENDLY England 0-1 Japan
MAR 2026 FRIENDLY Scotland 0-1 Japan
NOV 2025 FRIENDLY Japan 3-0 Bolivia
NOV 2025 FRIENDLY Japan 2-0 Ghana

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Netherlands are likely to control this fixture in terms of possession, but they might not find it easy to break down a well-organised Japan side that is also lightning-quick in transition.

With little value in the outright market odds, it could be worth focusing on how many goals will be scored in this game, or indeed how few.

The Dutch, conceded just four goals in their eight qualifying matches, while Japan’s rearguard was impenetrable in the second round of qualification. Both sides have undoubted quality in offensive areas, it might just be that this is a game dominated by defences.

With that in mind, ‘unders’ looks the way to go. It’s close to even money that we don’t get three goals in this game and that feels like a solid betting angle into an intriguing clash of styles in Dallas.

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