The excitement builds as Spain is set to kick off their World Cup journey against Cape Verde tomorrow. Sid Lowe’s preview of the match is a must-read for fans.
“After seeing that Curacao are as good as the 2014 Brazil side, I am now all set for this mouthwatering contest,” shared Krishnamoorthy V. “Will this be the first goalless draw of the tournament? Or an engaging 2-2 draw? I will settle for anything if someone can recreate the Bergkamp magic just one more time.”
In a world dominated by VAR, it’s amusing to reflect that Bergkamp would have faced a suspension for the infamous France 98 quarter-final against Argentina.
“German economist Joachim Klement’s mathematical model has predicted the winner of every World Cup since 2014, and this time he’s predicting the Netherlands to beat Portugal in the final,” noted Andre Goudie. “I’m all for a bit of maths, but in this case I think I’d prefer my predictions done by an octopus.”
That slippery creature has been winging it for years now. And as for Paul the Octopus, the less said the better.
(However, three consecutive correct winners is quite impressive. If I had a farm, I might be tempted to bet on the Netherlands.)
For the iconic moment of David Narey against Brazil in 1982, substitute that with Livano Comencia against Germany in 2026. Proceed with caution!
The NBA success of the New York Knicks may seem irrelevant to the World Cup, but in Manhattan, it plays a crucial role in the narrative surrounding the 2026 tournament.
William MacGregor, 41, from Dumbarton, described the post-goal atmosphere as “bouncing … Drinks were flying everywhere when the goal went in. Not mine, I kept mine.”
“Thoroughly looking forwards to this,” remarked James Humphries. “Japan are great fun every time I watch them and my understanding is that the Dutch aren’t defensively at their best, so could be the game of the tournament so far.”
Cheerful revelers? Japan? Something along those lines.
The link between King Lear and the 1966 World Cup is obscure, primarily because it impacted a small audience at a now-defunct boarding school. I had unexpectedly been cast to perform in the school’s production of Lear (yes, I played the Fool; yes, I was typecast). The day before one of the performances, I fell and twisted something, making me a questionable choice for a role that required a lot of movement.
Matron prescribed sleeping pills. That evening, England faced Mexico in that now-legendary tournament—essentially a must-win following a goalless draw against Uruguay. I went to bed early, tucked my transistor radio under the pillow to catch the commentary, fell asleep, and only learned of the result the next morning: England 2 Mexico 0. The rest is history.
Ronald Koeman has opted to retain the same starting XI that defeated Uzbekistan 2-1 in the Netherlands’ final warm-up before the tournament. Memphis Depay, who has recovered from injury, will start on the bench.
Nine of the Japanese starting XI were on the pitch for their victory at Wembley in March. The exceptions being Takefusa Kubo and Celtic’s Daizen Maeda, who replace Junya Ito and the unfortunately injured Kaoru Mitoma. The World Cup will miss his contributions.
Netherlands (4-3-3): Verbruggen; Dumfries, Van Hecke, Van Dijk, Van de Ven; Gravenberch, De Jong, Reijnders; Summerville, Malen, Gakpo.
Substitutes: Roefs, Flekken, Geertruida, Ake, Wieffer, Hato, De Roon, Kluivert, Til, Q Timber, Koopmeiners, Weghorst, Depay, Lang, Brobbey.
Japan (3-4-2-1): Z Suzuki; Watanabe, Taniguchi, H Ito; Doan, Sano, Kamada, Nakamura; Kubo, Maeda; Ueda.
Substitutes: Osako, Hayakawa, Sugawara, Itakura, Nagatomo, Seko, Tomiyasu, J Suzuki, Tanaka, K Ito, Y Suzuki, Machino, Goto, Ogawa, Shiogai.
Referee: Ismail Elfath (USA)
In 2002, there was a sense that Japan had missed an opportunity. While South Korea benefitted from some favorable officiating, they also showcased their talent. Their speed, technical skill, and tactical adaptability propelled them to the semi-finals of their home World Cup.
Japan did not falter, topping their group only to fall 1-0 to Turkey in the round of 16, but the contrast with their co-hosts was inevitably disappointing.
Although Park Ji-sung and Lee Young-pyo secured moves to PSV based on their performances, later joining Manchester United and Tottenham, respectively, Japan had four players already with European clubs. However, one of them, Junichi Inamoto, had briefly returned to Gamba Osaka from a loan at Arsenal before moving to Fulham. He never made a league appearance for Arsène Wenger, and his subsequent move to West Brom did not yield significant success.
The unfortunate Japanese journalist tasked with covering him became a figure of sympathy. The final question of each of Bryan Robson’s pre-match press conferences would always be his polite inquiry about Inamoto’s training progress—until one day, after nearly two years, he finally snapped, demanding in exasperation.
“So, um, what… what was I talking about, again?”
Germany is currently on course for victory over Curacao in today’s opening match. Regardless of the outcome, this match will be remembered for the pinnacle of Livano Comenencia’s career.
“Mr Robson, why do you pick Darren Carter?”
“It’s not about individuals acting like egoists. This group of players fight together and within that unity, individuality emerges. There is a strength in these ‘Japanised’ individuals.”
Japan has reached a point where openly discussing “winning the World Cup” no longer invites mockery. Their historic victories over Germany and Spain in 2022 demonstrated their ability to achieve more than just a fluke upset. Under head coach Hajime Moriyasu, who has been at the helm for nearly eight years, the team has evolved into a squad capable of not only competing with the world’s best but defeating them as well. This has been reinforced by victories over Brazil in October and England at Wembley in March.
Japan is expected to implement a 3-4-2-1 formation, although they also experimented with a 3-1-4-2 against England, indicating tactical flexibility based on opponents. Aggressive pressing from the front is crucial, with players like Takefusa Kubo, Ritsu Doan, Keito Nakamura, and Junya Ito excelling at applying pressure on rival teams.
Back home, optimism is high, and former Japan coach Akira Nishino, who led the team during the 2018 World Cup in Russia, commented on the current squad.
“It’s not about individuals acting like egoists. This group of players fight together, and within that unity, individuality emerges. There is strength in these ‘Japanised’ individuals.”
This team genuinely believes they can claim the World Cup title.
Has Ronald Koeman ever faced such challenges at the start of a major tournament? Probably not. Known for his ambitious perfectionism, the lead-up to this World Cup has been the most challenging of his tenure as national team head coach.
Injuries are an unfortunate aspect of the sport, but they become problematic when nearly half the starting lineup is either completely unavailable or sidelined for months leading into a major tournament. In the spring, Koeman stated he would only select players who were fully fit and actively playing, but adhering to that principle became increasingly difficult.
Tottenham’s Xavi Simons suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in April and is expected to return next year. PSV midfielder Jerdy Schouten is also on the mend from the same injury. Matthijs de Ligt, who has frequently partnered Virgil van Dijk in defense, has yet to regain full fitness following a back issue.
Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong missed significant time this season, while Inter’s Denzel Dumfries was out for four months. Manchester City’s Tijjani Reijnders and Nathan Aké were often benched, and Memphis Depay faced a serious hamstring injury at the end of his season in Brazil.
Welcome to live, minute-by-minute coverage of the Netherlands versus Japan in Texas. This match is one of the most intriguing fixtures of the group stage, featuring two teams eager to make their mark in the World Cup.
The Netherlands is arguably the best team to have never won the World Cup and is certainly the only team to have lost three finals without securing a victory. Japan, on the other hand, stands out as the best team yet to reach the quarter-finals.
They appear well-positioned to rectify that particular oversight. Since completing their qualification campaign a year ago, Japan has won nine of their last twelve matches, including their first-ever victories over Brazil and England. Now, they aim for a historic win against the Netherlands.
If Japan is the underdog favorite at this World Cup, the Netherlands continues to operate under the radar. Their squad may lack the star power of more illustrious Dutch teams, but their recent performances speak volumes. They were eliminated by the eventual champions Argentina in the quarter-finals of the last World Cup and narrowly lost to England in a gripping Euro 2024 semi-final.
This group poses challenges, with Sweden and Tunisia also in the mix, so a draw tonight would be a respectable outcome for both Netherlands and Japan. However, let’s hope neither team is approaching the match with that mindset.
Kickoff is set for 3 PM local time / 4 PM EDT / 9 PM BST.
