Group F is Oranje and Samurai Blue, as the Netherlands and Japan are progressing to the World Cup 2026 Round of 32, which is the result many expected before the quadrennial tournament started.
The Netherlands wrapped up their group-stage campaign with a 3-1 win against Tunisia, handing their CAF counterparts their third straight defeat for zero points. With two wins and one draw, Ronald Koeman’s side accumulated seven points to take the top seed in Group F.
Japan’s 1-1 draw against Sweden guaranteed they’ll also leave the group stage unbeaten. With one win and two draws, Hajime Moriyasu’s side took the second seed with five points. Meanwhile, Sweden finished third with four points, and will wait for the next set of World Cup 2026 results.
Without further ado, SBOTOP recaps what happened in Group F.
Tunisia 1-3 Netherlands
The Netherlands made an ideal start, as they took the lead after just three minutes, when Denzel Dumfries’ cross was tapped into the net by Ellyes Skhiri. Brian Brobbey, who scored a brace in the Oranje’s 5-1 whacking of Sweden last time out, added a second goal just four minutes later, as the Sunderland striker volleyed home after Virgil van Dijk nodded a free-kick across the penalty area into his path.
But Tunisia won’t go down without a fight, as they threatened early in the second half. Skhiri made amends for his earlier error during the 51st minute, as he blocked Dumfries’ close-range attempt that would’ve given the Netherlands already their third goal of the match. Three minutes later, the Carthage Eagles entered the scoresheet, as Hazem Mastouri made a superb header from Hannibal Mejbri’s corner, which gave them a sliver of hope.
However, that feeling didn’t last long, as Jan Paul van Hecke found the back of the net two minutes after the hour mark with a glancing header from a Tijjani Reijnders corner, with the help of a deflection from Anis Ben Slimane.
Reijnders almost made it 4-1 with a lob against the crossbar and a low shot to test goalie Aymen Dahmen. Even if he didn’t score, the damage had already been done, with the Oranje safely through.
Ronald Koeman’s side will face Morocco in the Round of 32, and they will arrive with full confidence, having scored their joint-most goals in a single World Cup group stage (also 10 in 2014). The Netherlands needed just six minutes and 24 seconds to build a 2-0 lead – the fastest a team has done so in a World Cup contest since Poland against the United States in 2002 (four minutes and 21 seconds).
Brian Brobbey became only the third player to score with each of his first three shots in World Cup matches, joining Laszlo Kiss (for Hungary in 1982) and Yerry Mina (for Colombia in 2018).
Excluding penalty shootouts, the Netherlands are undefeated in their last 15 games. As for Tunisia, they became the first country to concede 12 goals in a World Cup group stage since North Korea in 2010.
Japan 1-1 Sweden
Japan and Sweden exchanged shots in the first half, as Alexander Bernhardsson forced Zion Suzuki into an early save. And Yukinari Sugawara and Keito Nakamura called Jacob Widell Zetterstrom into the action. At the end of the first half, neither side found the back of the net, as clear-cut chances were few and far between.
The Samurai Blue were quick out of the blocks in the second half and took a deserved lead through Daizen Maeda, who received a nifty pass from Ritsu Doan four minutes before the hour mark. However, Japan’s lead didn’t last long, as Sweden hit back through Anthony Elanga’s left-footed volley six minutes later. Sweden almost stole the match late, forcing Suzuki to save Elanga and Alexander Isak’s attempts, but to no avail.
By avoiding defeat, Japan have now gone unbeaten through a World Cup group stage for just the second time, having previously done so in 2002 as one of the tournament’s co-hosts (W2, D1). The Samurai Blue have most players recording goal involvements at this tournament (10, level with Germany), surpassing their previous record of eight in 2022. They are slated to face Brazil in the Round of 32, where the World Cup 2026 odds have them as the underdogs.
Sweden have now scored four goals from outside the box in this tournament. The last team to score four goals from outside the box in the group stage was Brazil in 2006. Anthony Elanga became the first Swedish player to score in consecutive World Cup matches since Kennet Andersson and Martin Dahlin in 1994.
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