Sweden arrive at this Group F fixture in Houston on the back of a historic performance — their biggest World Cup goalscoring display in 88 years — while the Netherlands are desperate to show a sterner face after an unconvincing draw in their opener.

Sweden's flying start

Graham Potter's side put five goals past Tunisia to open their FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign, with both Viktor Gyokeres and Alexander Isak getting on the scoresheet. Brighton's Yasin Ayari also netted twice, making it a dream beginning for the Scandinavians. A win here would confirm Sweden's passage to the round of 32 with a game to spare.

Sweden last defeated the Netherlands in qualifying for the 2012 European Championship, with goals from Kim Kallstrom, Sebastian Larsson, and Ola Toivonen sealing that victory. Their history at the 2018 World Cup was also encouraging — they reached the quarter-finals before losing to England. Their route to the 2026 tournament was far from smooth, requiring play-off wins against Ukraine and Poland, but Potter has transformed the side since joining in October.

Dutch frustration against Japan

Ronald Koeman's Netherlands were far from their best in their opening match. They twice took the lead against Japan, only for Daichi Kamada to strike a late equaliser and leave the Dutch with a single point. Virgil van Dijk, Micky van de Ven, and Jan Paul van Hecke must tighten up at the back if the Netherlands are to dominate this group.

Of the seven goals these two sides scored in their respective openers, six came from players based at English clubs — underlining the Premier League's influence on both squads. Van Dijk and Cody Gakpo scored for the Netherlands, joining Isak, Gyokeres, and Ayari on the tournament's early highlights reel.

Team news

Koeman makes one change from the Japan match, dropping Crysencio Summerville — booked in that game — and bringing in Brian Brobbey to lead the attack. The Netherlands line up as: Bart Verbruggen; Denzel Dumfries, Jan Paul van Hecke, Virgil van Dijk, Micky van de Ven; Ryan Gravenberch, Frenkie de Jong, Tijjani Reijnders; Donyell Malen, Brian Brobbey, Cody Gakpo.

Potter names an unchanged Sweden side, keeping faith with the front two that dismantled Tunisia. Victor Lindelof captains the defence and will face former club teammate Malen. Sweden's XI: Kristoffer Nordfeldt; Gustaf Lagerbielke, Isak Hien, Victor Lindelof; Alexander Bernhardsson, Jesper Karlstrom, Yasin Ayari, Gabriel Gudmundsson; Benjamin Nygren; Viktor Gyokeres, Alexander Isak.

How to watch

Kick-off is set for 6:00pm BST / 1:00pm ET. The match is free to stream in several regions: BBC in the UK, RTÉ Player in Ireland, SBS On Demand in Australia, NOS in the Netherlands, RTBF/VRT in Belgium, CazéTV on YouTube in Brazil, SRF/RTS/RSI in Switzerland, and TRT in Turkey. In the US, Fox and Fox One carry the broadcast, also accessible via YouTube TV, Hulu+Live TV, Sling, Fubo, and DirecTV.

FourFourTwo predicts Netherlands 2-2 Sweden — another draw for Koeman's side, with both teams showing enough quality to cancel each other out ahead of their final group games.