Netherlands vs Japan at World Cup 2026: TV channel, how to watch, kick-off time, live stream, referee, predicted line-ups

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June 13, 2026

On June 13, 2026

Jun 13, 2026, 03:05 AM ET

The Netherlands and Japan kick off their 2026 FIFA World Cup campaigns at AT&T Stadium in Dallas on Sunday. With the pedigree that these two sides have carried into this tournament, this could well be a battle for top spot in the group, but Sweden will sure have something to say about that.

Having made the quarterfinals of the last World Cup, and then followed that up with a semifinal performance at UEFA EURO 2024, the Netherlands will be looking to go all the way here at this World Cup, but it has been a rather poor build-up for them, even if they qualified comfortably from their group in European qualification.

On the other hand, Japan will be confident of perhaps their best-ever showing at a FIFA World Cup. They’ve reached the round of 16 in each of the last two tournaments in Russia and Qatar, and have only improved since then, exemplified by their first-ever win over England, in a friendly in March.

Here’s everything you need to know about Sunday’s game.

How to watch:

The match will be available on ITV1 in the UK, Fox Sports in the U.S., Zee5 in India and SBS in Australia. You can also follow ESPN’s live updates.

Key Details:

Date, kick-off time:
U.S. ET: Sunday June 14, 4 p.m.
UK BST: Sunday June 14, 9 p.m.
India IST: Monday June 15, 1.30 a.m.
Australia AEST: Monday June 15, 6 a.m

Venue: AT&T Stadium, Dallas, USA

Referee: Ismail Elfath

Predicted Lineups

Netherlands

Japan

Talking Points

Netherlands seek positivity

A loss to Algeria in Rotterdam before flying across the Atlantic, and then a last-gasp win over Uzbekistan in their only friendly since landing in the USA means that there is a sense of negativity surrounding the Dutch at the moment. Ronald Koeman will be aware of that, but he would also be aware that both those results mean a lot less than the performances in those games did.

The Netherlands weren’t anywhere near their best in either of those games, but still created enough clear-cut chances to win both those games by comfortable margins. Crysencio Summerville, and Donyell Malen, in particular, were guilty of missing a lot of chances in those two games. Of course, it is reassuring for Koeman that Malen and Summerville were getting in those dangerous positions, and the Dutch were good enough to create chances for them.

Of course, Koeman will know that none of that means anything if they don’t take their chances when the real deal begins on Sunday. Anything other than a win in their opening game, and the prevailing negativity could easily turn toxic.

Can Japan produce their best ever World Cup?

Japan have been dealt a big blow, with their captain Wataru Endo pulling out of the tournament with a foot injury. The Liverpool midfielder has also retired from international football, having tried his best to play a role at this tournament following surgery in February.

However, the success of the Japanese football project is that they’re no more in the days where an individual or two would define their whole campaign. Kaoru Mitoma is another huge absentee for Japan, but Hajime Moriyasu has created a setup that is capable of transcending such key losses.

Japan were the first team make it out of qualifying, and since October, have been stellar across continents and against different opposition. They come into this World Cup on the back of six wins in a row — including big results against the likes of Brazil and England.

In Ayase Ueda, they have a striker who won the Eredivisie golden boot in the Netherlands last season, and they have seasoned campaigners like Ko Itakura, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Maya Yoshida and Ao Tanaka in their squad. With the experience they have, and the tournament experience that Japan have as a collective, they must only be written off at anyone’s peril.