Group F looks on paper like one of the most intriguing of the 2026 World Cup, with four sides who will all fancy their chances of progressing to the knockout rounds.
The Netherlands may not have the attacking firepower of previous generations, but they have vast quality and experience in defence and midfield, and will start the group as the favourites to take top spot. But they face competition from a talented Japanese side who are ranked 18th in the world, a Swedish team with outstanding forward players, and a hard-to-beat Tunisian outfit.
With the newly expanded 48-team format, there is the potential for an odd situation in which it is preferable to qualify finishing third than it is to finish second, where Brazil are likely to await in the round of 32. It also means there will be a strong incentive to win the group, and that should make it all the more interesting to watch.
14 June, 9pm: Netherlands v Japan – AT&T Stadium, Arlington
15 June, 3am: tunisia/">Tunisia v Sweden – Estadio BBVA, Guadalupe
20 June, 6pm: Netherlands v Sweden – NRG Stadium, Houston
21 June, 5am: Japan v Tunisia – Estadio BBVA, Guadalupe
26 June, 12am: Sweden v Japan – AT&T Stadium, Arlington
26 June, 12am: Tunisia v Netherlands – Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City
The Dutch may only be eighth favourites before the World Cup begins, according to most bookmakers, but they say defences win tournaments and Netherlands have one of the best in North America this summer.
The captain, Virgil van Dijk, is set to be paired with Arsenal‘s Jurrien Timber in the heart of the backline alongside Tottenham’s Micky van de Ven at left-back and Denzel Dumfries – who is due to sign for Real Madrid from Inter – at right-back. That is before you get to Manchester City‘s Nathan Ake, Chelsea‘s Jorrel Hato and Brighton‘s Jan Paul van Hecke.
Ronald Koeman can call upon an impressive midfield, too, of Ryan Gravenberch, Frenkie de Jong and Tijjani Reijnders – it is just a pity for the Netherlands that Xavi Simons has been ruled out by injury.
Unusually for a Dutch team, it is the attacking options which are a little thin. But Donyell Malen found astonishing form on loan at Roma this season, scoring 14 goals since joining from Aston Villa in January, and he is likely to lead the line.
Forwards: Brian Brobbey (Sunderland), Memphis Depay (Corinthians), Cody Gakpo (Liverpool), Noa Lang (Galatasaray), Donyell Malen (Roma), Crysencio Summerville (West Ham), Wout Weghorst (Ajax)
Star player – Ryan Gravenberch, Liverpool: Liverpool’s holding midfielder has not had an outstanding season by his high standards, but he is one of the best in the world in his position when he’s on form, and will be key both in shielding the defence and carrying the ball upfield.
Breakout talent – Crysencio Summerville, West Ham: The 24-year-old is well known to Premier League fans and could now make an impact on the global stage with his pace and trickery on the ball.
Japan have risen up the world rankings in recent years and find themselves inside the top 20 coming into this World Cup. Consecutive appearances in the knockout stages and wins over Germany and Spain at Qatar 2022 proved their ability to compete with the best in the world.
Hajime Moriyasu has built a well-organised team full of energy and technical craft, who beat England at Wembley in March. Expect to see Japan on plenty of lists of “dark horses” over the coming days.
Their squad play all over Europe, and perhaps most eye-catching this season has been Feyenoord’s Ayase Ueda, who won the Eredivisie Golden Boot scoring 25 goals in 31 games. The great disappointment for Japan is that Brighton’s Kaoru Mitoma is injured and will miss the tournament.
Goalkeepers: Tomoki Hayakawa (Kashima Antlers), Keisuke Osako (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Zion Suzuki (Parma)
Forwards: Ayase Ueda (Feyenoord), Keito Nakamura (Stade de Reims), Ito Suzuki (Freiburg), Kento Shiode (Wolfsburg), Keisuke Goto (Sint-Truiden)
Star player – Ayase Ueda, Feyenoord: Not many teams have such an in-form striker at the World Cup.
Breakout talent – Zion Suzuki, Parma: The young goalkeeper has established himself as No 1 for both Parma in Serie A and the Japan national team, and will be playing in his first World Cup.
Sweden were terrible in qualifying and failed to reach the World Cup through the traditional route. But they were handed another chance through the Nations League play-offs, and they took it in dramatic style when Viktor Gyokeres scored an 88th-minute winner to beat Poland in Stockholm and send Sweden to North America.
Graham Potter took over from Jon Dahl Tomasson in November and steered Sweden to play-off glory. Now his task is to get them out of this tough group – and he has plenty of attacking firepower to call upon.
Alexander Isak and Gyokeres make one of the most potent attacking forces at the World Cup, complemented by the pace of Anthony Elanga. Sweden’s hope is that they can outscore their opponents.
Goalkeepers: Kristoffer Nordfeldt (AIK), Viktor Johansson (Stoke), Jacob Widell Zetterstrom (Derby)
Midfielders: Yasin Ayari (Brighton), Lucas Bergvall (Tottenham), Mattias Svanberg (VfL Wolfsburg), Besfort Zeneli (Union Saint-Gilloise), Jesper Karlstrom (Udinese), Benjamin Nygren (Celtic), Ken Sema (Pafos)
Forwards: Taha Ali (Malmo FF), Anthony Elanga (Newcastle), Viktor Gyokeres (Arsenal), Gustaf Nilsson (Club Brugge), Alexander Bernhardsson (Holstein Kiel), Alexander Isak (Liverpool)
Star player – Viktor Gyokeres, Arsenal: His four goals in two games propelled Sweden to the World Cup and, especially given Isak’s fitness issues this season, Gyokeres will be the key attacking player.
Breakout talent – Yasin Ayari, Brighton: The 22-year-old is the second-youngest player in Sweden’s squad and provides ballast in midfield, having already racked up 21 caps and three goals for his country. Also impressed for Brighton during their impressive Premier League campaign this term.
Tunisia are the underdogs of the group but they have nothing to be afraid of. They beat France four years ago in Qatar and have repeatedly shown they can be difficult to play against, qualifying for the World Cup without conceding a single goal.
Manager Sabri Lamouchi is still getting to know his team after taking over in January, but the early signs suggest he will play a back four and prioritise young players. Tunisia’s goal is to reach the knockout stages for the first time, and it may be that one win is enough to progress in this newly expanded 48-nation format in which eight third-placed finishers go through to the round of 32.
Tunisia may also be better equipped than their Group F opponents to handle the heat of a North American summer.
Goalkeepers: Sabri Ben Hessen (Etoile Sahel), Abdelmouhib Chamakh (Club Africain), Aymen Dahman (CS Sfaxien)
Star player – Hannibal Mejbri, Burnley: The Burnley midfielder is still only 23 but has developed into Tunisia’s talisman.
Breakout talent – Ismael Gharbi, Augsburg: Tipped to be the future of Tunisian future when he came through Paris Saint-Germain’s academy to the first team, but his career has stalled since moving to Braga and then Augsburg on loan. The 22-year-old has the platform to show his talent at the WOrld Cup this summer.
The Netherlands should win this group, although it may not be entirely smooth or straightforward. The big question is who comes second, and it will probably come down to that last game between Sweden and Japan. We’ll tip Sweden purely because Kaoru Mitoma’s injury blunts Japan’s attack, but Japan will progress as a third-placed side, with Tunisia missing out.
