The Netherlands will need to hit their stride quickly if they are to finally get their hands on the World Cup this summer after a host of near misses. No country has reached more finals without being crowned world champions than the Dutch, who were runners-up in 1974, 1978 and 2010, but their route to success this year is not an easy one.
Japan , their opening opponents, have reached the knockout phase in four of the last six editions, including beating Germany and Spain in the group stage in 2022. Sweden , meanwhile, may have only just scraped into the finals but boast a £250million Premier League forward line in Alexander Isak, Viktor Gyokeres and Anthony Elanga , while the other team in Group F, Tunisia , are three-time former Africa Cup of Nations winners.
No team would relish facing Japan first up and we think Ronald Koeman’s men would sign for a point in Texas right now, with our prediction being a score draw @ 7/2.
Betting Odds
Netherlands vs Japan Betting Odds – 2026 World Cup
Result | Odds | Chance |
|---|---|---|
Netherlands | 20/21 | 51.2% |
Japan | 13/5 | 27.8% |
Draw | 5/2 | 28.6% |
*Odds are correct at the time of writing, but subject to change.
Netherlands are 20/21 favourites to beat Japan , who are 13/5 for the win, with the draw at 5/2.
How to Watch
How to Watch Netherlands vs Japan
The World Cup Group F match is scheduled to begin at 21:00 BST on Sunday and will be shown live on ITV1.
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Form Guides
Netherlands Form Guide
The Netherlands should feel optimistic of another decent World Cup run, having reached the quarter-finals four years ago before losing a fiery encounter on penalties to eventual champions Argentina.
Koeman can call on many of the players that reached the Euro 2024 semi-finals and the Dutch breezed through qualifying, picking up 20 points from a possible 24 while scoring 27 goals - only Norway and Belgium managed more in Europe.
They have had their ups and downs in 2026 , though, beating Norway and Uzbekistan 2-1 either side of a 1-1 draw with Ecuador and 1-0 defeat to Algeria. The Netherlands won their first two meetings with Japan , including a 1-0 group-stage win at the 2010 World Cup , but they drew 2-2 in their last clash in 2013 and you can get odds of 14/1 for an identical outcome this time.
Japan Form Guide
Japan can consider themselves unfortunate not to have got any further than the last 16 in their seven World Cup appearances . On the four occasions they reached that far, they lost 1-0 to Tunisia , were knocked out on penalties by Paraguay and Croatia and, in 2018, suffering a heartbreaking stoppage-time defeat to Belgium having led 2-0 with barely 20 minutes left.
Never an easy opponent to face, Japan can count Brazil , England and Scotland among their friendly victims heading into the 2026 World Cup, where they should reach the knockout stages again at the very least. The Samurai Blue have kept five successive clean sheets since beating Brazil 3-2 in October and won their last three matches 1-0, so we’re not expecting a high-scoring encounter at AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys.
Japan to win either half @ 11/8 looks promising to us, and for the four-time AFC Asian Cup winners to draw after leading at half-time is 14/1. On the goalscoring front, Daizen Maeda finished the season on fire for Celtic , netting nine goals in his final seven games, and he is 9/1 to open the scoring against the Dutch .
Betting Tips
Netherlands vs Japan Betting Tips
Netherlands and Japan to draw & BTTS @ 7/2
Netherlands and Japan to draw 2-2 @ 14/1
Daizen Maeda to score first @ 9/1
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