World Cup 2026 - Time for a Dutch Trophy

I hope Summerville is ok. Malen just could not hit the target . Memphis does not look fit. Look at the bench and Weghorst is not fast . The picture is not bright for sure. Timber will be missed and Geertruida is not at the same level. Cannot win game with penalties or counting on opponent's own goals, but they need to score 1 more than the opponent .

 

Had Jurrien been fit, he and Quinten will be the only twins playing in this World Cup. There are some brothers playing in this World Cup, surprisingly not on the same team. Derrick (Ghana) and Brian (Netherlands) Brobbey. John (Scotland) and Harry (Australia) Souttar. Inaki (Ghana) and Nico (Spain) Williams. Guela (Ivory Coast) and Desire (France) Doue.

 

Kansas City does welcome the Dutch national team with open arms: 'Look at that, people... This is going to be amazing!'

View of the entrance to the Kansas City Fan Festival.

 

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The players of the Dutch national team have completed an open training session in Kansas City. Afterwards, Denzel Dumfries in particular proved popular among both the Dutch fans and the locals.

 

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American top referee whistles first World Cup match Orange
The first World Cup match of the Orange Squad with Japan will be led by an American referee next Sunday. Ismail Elfath has to lead the first group match of the Orange Squad in the right direction. Elfath is not a well-known name in the European football world, but the 44-year-old American refereed the final of the Intercontinental Cup between Paris Saint-Germain and Flamengo last year. Indicative of his status is that he was also awarded the final of the CONCACAF Champions Cup between the Mexican clubs Toluca and Tigres at the end of May.
The Moroccan-born American will be assisted by compatriots Corey Parker and Kyle Atkins in Dallas on Sunday. Along the line, the Mexican Katia García, one of the female referees who will be allowed to whistle at the World Cup this summer, is the fourth official.

 

Japan’s captain Wataru Endo has been withdrawn from the WC squad due to injury…

 

Well, that's one on each side's midfield with Xavi and Endo.

 

Stole this from the Internet… lol, this is so cruel…

Shakira has appeared in more World Cups than Italy in the last 20 years

 

Opening match yesterday had only 1.7 million viewers. Including streaming. That is really low compared to previous World Cups.

 

In case the pictures do not work, see this link:
https://imgur.com/a/mHGflAU

Where players are born in the Lowlands.

 

No. Like Orange14 suggested, that was likely only a single country. The estimate that I find is around 1.42 Billion viewers.

 

The country of this subforum: Netherlands.

Usually the number of viewers for the opener is higher. This time they also counted the digital viewers.

 

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The best represented cities this World Cup:
Panama City, Panama: 21
London, England: 19
Paris, France: 15
Montevideo, Uruguay: 15
Rotterdam, Netherlands: 13
Amman, Jordan: 13
Doha, Qatar: 13
Stockholm, Sweden: 11
Cairo, Egypt: 11
Abidjan, Ivory Coast: 11

 

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TheOrange Squad will meet Japan in the group stage of the 2026 World Cup. Voetbal International has thoroughly analyzed the three opponents. For the real depth, see VI PRO, but this is a short analysis of Japan.

Playing style
Under national coach Hajime Moriyasu, Japan has switched from a 4-2-3-1 formation to a 3-4-2-1 variant. Since this turnaround in the summer of 2024, Japan has kept a clean sheet in 15 of the 23 international matches. Japan nevertheless has the intention to put high pressure. It does so from a defensive 5-2-3.

Star players
From a Dutch point of view, the eyes are mainly on Eredivisie top scorer Ayase Ueda. Although he has a serious competitor in the point of attack with NEC striker Koki Ogawa. Yukinari Sugawara, Ko Itakura, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Ritsu Doan, Keito Nakamura and Kento Shiogai are also familiar names to us. The real stars, however, are players like Takefusa Kubo (Real Sociedad), Daichi Kamada (Crystal Palace), Hiroki Ito (Bayern Munich) and Wataru Endo (Liverpool).

Strengths: where is the risk for the Netherlands?
On counters, the offensive wings are a weapon for Japan. They immediately sprint forward when they win the ball, hoping to be launched into large spaces. The Dutch national team must guard the organization behind the ball while attacking. Otherwise, Japan will quickly break out with many players. From the regular field line-up, Japan works a lot with position changes.

Weak spots
If Japan loses the ball, there are opportunities for the Dutch national team. Because the wingers are far forward, there are spaces on the sides. Apart from the conclusion, the friendly match against Algeria offers perspective on this point. The Dutch national team has often become dangerous in that game through quick breakouts with Crysencio Summerville, Donyell Malen and Cody Gakpo.

Previous encounters
The Netherlands and Japan met three times before prior to this match. The Dutch remained unbeaten in all those meetings against the Asian opponent. The first confrontation took place in 2009 and was won by the Netherlands 3-0 in a friendly game. A year later, both countries faced each other at the 2010 World Cup. Then Wesley Sneijder gave the team of national coach Bert van Marwijk a 1-0 victory. The most recent meeting dates back to 2013 and ended in a 2-2 draw. Thanks to goals from Rafael van der Vaart and Arjen Robben, the Netherlands seemed to be on its way to victory for a long time, but due to a goal by Keisuke Honda, among others, that lead was lost.

 

Morocco looks a better team, fast, possession team that Netherlands may have problem with. Brazil depended on individual talent, Vinicius and Rafinha, will be an easier opponent.

 

Would never have guessed that as number one!

 

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Pessimism around the Orange Squad grows in the run-up to opening duel with Japan, according to AD Sportwereld.

 

Foreign media:

The Spanish Marca traveled to Kansas City, where the Dutch have set up their base camp. Normally, Spanish journalists would probably come for Frenkie de Jong, but nowadays they still have a landmark in the Dutch national team. Denzel Dumfries is about to move to Real Madrid and was therefore the subject of the report. The journalist's findings: Dumfries is actually a striker. There are only four players in the selection who scored more often than Dumfries (eleven times). In Madrid, Mbappé and Vinícius get very nice company. Denzel – as he is called by Marca – is on scoring goals. Mundo Deportivo is Catalan and that is also evident from the choice of subject. The preview of the Dutch team is completely focused on Frenkie de Jong. 'The expectations for the Dutch are always high, and this time too. That Frenkie de Jong of Barcelona is there, seems essential. He is the player around whom the whole game of Koeman's team revolves.'

In France, L'Équipe is a bit more reserved. The practice campaign of the Dutch was just bad, the newspaper states. In addition, injuries and form crises have to be dealt with. 'About ten days ago, Ronald Koeman praised the form of his team, and thought it was even better than before the Euro 2024, where they had reached the semi-finals. Was it just vain hope of the national coach of the Netherlands, or did he speak too soon? His team starts the World Cup against Japan in a worrying state of confusion.'

 

I don'tlike the combo de Jong - Gravenberch. I rather would like a more defensive solid midfielder there, so my choice would be Koopmeiners.

 

Endo is out of World Cup, and

I would start Brobbey, playing physically first then make adjustments.