World Cup 2026 Day 4: Group F Recap

Group F of the World Cup is an interesting bunch. The Netherlands always enters the tournament as a favorite, but they have never lifted the trophy. Japan has emerged on the scene in recent tournaments and is ready for a deep run.

Sweden is turning heads with its football program, with world-class talent playing in top leagues for top clubs. Then there's Tunisia, a team that loves to shock the best and shake up a group. 

On Sunday, Group F buzzed in the first Matchday. 

General view inside the stadium as the teams walk out before the match

Kai Pfaffenbach

World Cup Group F - Matchday 1

Netherlands 2 - 2 Japan

These two nations provided the most entertaining match of the World Cup so far. Many will see the final score and probably think it was just another old 2-2 bore, but it was the complete opposite. 

The first half ended scoreless, with the Netherlands controlling possession and scoring opportunities. Both the Netherlands and Japan looked cautious throughout the first 45 minutes. The Dutch midfield of Frenkie de Jong, Ryan Gravenberch, and Tijjani Reijnders was in constant motion with the ball, which forced Japan to defend deep. 

Japan's 3-4-2-1 formation was being tested early, but remained compact. The Dutch were in a standard 4-3-3, hence the controlled midfield.

The second half is when the madness started. 

Netherlands' Crysencio Summerville celebrates scoring their second goal with Micky van de Ven

Hannah McKay

Six minutes into the restart, Virgil van Dijk powered home a header. A set piece taken by Reijnders ended up being blocked, and the ball made its way back to de Jong, who then sent it across to Gravenberch. Gravenberch crossed the ball in from way far out of the box, and it found his Liverpool teammate to go 1-0 up. Excellent service by Gravenberch to a T. 

Japan didn't allow the Dutch to keep momentum for long. Just seven minutes later, Keito Nakamura brought his nation level, 1-1. A quick passing sequence by the Japanese opened up enough space for Nakamura to fire off a shot that deflected off of Jan Paul van Hecke and beat Bart Verbruggen.

Seven minutes later, the Dutch regained the lead. In the 64th minute, Crysencio Summerville took control of a pass from Gravenberch, cut inside from the left wing, and fired a shot that curled into the bottom left corner. This goal surely felt like the winner, but Japan wasn't going to give up. 

As the remaining 15 minutes crept by, Japan started to take over. Minute by minute, they were slowly gaining more control to find the equalizer. And in the 88th minute, it came. 

Japan's Koki Ogawa in action before Daichi Kamada scores their second goal

Kai Pfaffenbach

Off a corner kick, Koki Ogawa, who subbed on in the 75th minute, headed the ball toward the goal, and it bounced off Daichi Kamada and behind Verbruggen. The Japanese bench and fans erupted, and the match ended 2-2. 

The Netherlands had the star power in this one, but Japan had the resilience to keep punching back when down. 

Sweden 5 - 1 Tunisia 

General view as players line up during the national anthems before the match

Raquel Cunha

Coming into their first World Cup match since 2018, Sweden wasted no time getting the party started. 

The attack came out firing, resulting in a goal by Yasin Ayari. Tunisia goalkeeper Abdelmouhib Chamakh came way off his line to try to get hold of Victor Lindelöf's pass, but he managed to push the ball towards Viktor Gyokeres. Gyokeres went for an attempt, the attempt was cleared, and then ended up right at the foot of Ayari, who blasted the ball into the top corner from distance. 

Ayari was born in Sweden and comes from Tunisian descent, so there was no wild celebration; just respect for the opposition. 

Alexander Isak doubled Sweden's lead in the 30th minute. Gyokeres controlled a ball launched by Benjamin Nygren for a clearance and volleyed it over to a sprinting Isak. Isak was tearing down the left flank and cut inside just in front of the box and sent a strike into the bottom right corner. 

Sweden's Mattias Svanberg celebrates scoring their fourth goal with Alexander Isak following a VAR check

Henry Romero

Minutes before the halftime whistle, Tunisia pulled back to within one. Hannibal Mejbri whipped a cross back into the box, and Omar Rekik converted with a header to give Tunisia much-needed life before the second half. Mejbri was creating opportunities for Tunisia throughout the first half, and one finally paid off. 

After getting one goal back just before halftime, Tunisia came out with some fire to start the second half. For the first 10 minutes or so, they had the majority of the chances. Sweden repelled them and sought opportunities to counterattack.

One such chance actually came from a "when playing out of the back goes wrong" for Tunisia. Chamakh rolled the ball to his captain, Skhiri; however, he didn't check his shoulder. Alexander Isak nabbed the ball and played his striker partner, Viktor Gyökeres, who lasered his chance home to make it 3-1.

Sweden's Viktor Gyokeres scores their third goal

Raquel Cunha

Sweden took their two-goal lead and played smartly. They stopped the Tunisia attacks and used the pace of their strikers to exploit spaces on counterattacks and set pieces. They'd find a fourth goal in the 86th minute as Matthias Svanberg scored his second after being subbed on. At first, Svanberg was called offside, but after VAR review, it was determined that the initial ball was touched by his teammate Iask, and that touch actually gave Svanberg time to get back onside.

It was 4-1 Sweden, but it wouldn't end that way. In the final minute of second-half stoppage time, Yasin Ayari netted his second thunder goal of the match to make it 5-1 for Sweden.

Day 4, Group F, Round-up:

After one game, Group F sees Sweden sit atop the group after beating Tunisia. The Netherlands and Japan drawing each other helps with that as well. The teams will now wait about a week to play their next matches.

Day five of the 2026 World Cup sees a favorite to win it all arvie, as well as a few darkhorses and quite a few underdogs. The matches are starting to produce World Cup fever all over the world, and especially in the City of Brotherly Love!