Netherlands – Sweden

The group's favorite will beat its current leader.

The Netherlands national team has reached the World Cup finals three times in its history, but has lost them all. Being one of the unluckiest participants in World Cups, the Oranje once again brought to the tournament one of the strongest squads. There were no problems for the Netherlands to qualify for the North American tournament — they finished first in their group. In the opening group-stage match, Ronald Koeman's charges played against Japan. Judging by the flow of the game, the Oranje were well prepared for serious Asian opponents. The Netherlands had the territorial advantage and created more dangerous chances than their opponents. However, they were physically able only until the middle of the second half, after which they simply ran out of steam. The tireless and highly industrious Japanese took advantage of this stretch to equalize the score. There was no thought of the Netherlands snatching a victory at the end of the match—the goal was to secure at least a draw. Sweden conducted the weakest qualifying campaign among all World Cup participants. The Nordic team finished last in their group, but earned a chance to achieve the desired outcome in the playoff qualification, where they fairly confidently defeated Ukraine and Poland. Undoubtedly, the Swedish team has transformed compared to the disappointments of 2025, as evidenced by the opening World Cup match against Tunisia. In it, the Swedes left nothing to the opponents — 5:1. Moreover, the extent of this transformation can be demonstrated only by truly serious opponents, whom the Swedes had not yet faced in 2026. On the first day of June they lost a friendly to Norway 1-3, which in play they should have lost 0-5 to 0-6. There is no doubt about the high class of Viktor Djokeresh and Alexander Isak, but only they in the Swedish side can surpass their counterparts from the Dutch team in their respective positions. Given the result of the first group-stage match, there is no doubt that the semi-finalist of the last European Championship will dominate on the field and score more goals than the surprise leader of Group F. The Netherlands will win the match.