The standings in Group F are incredibly tight. Both the Netherlands and Japan have secured four points each, with Sweden trailing closely behind on three points. Tunisia remains at the bottom of the table without any points and is already out of contention for the knockout stages. However, the top three teams all still have a chance to finish at the summit of the group.
Sweden approaches their crucial match with a full-strength squad, despite suffering a heavy 5-1 defeat to the Netherlands. Even if Sweden loses this game, they will not drop below third place, but the team would then have to rely on results from other groups to qualify as one of the best eight third-placed teams.
This outcome cannot be ruled out, with experts giving a slight edge to Japan. Interestingly, Sweden and Japan first met exactly 90 years ago at the 1936 Olympics, where Japan pulled off a remarkable comeback victory after trailing 0-2.
The 2026 World Cup match between Japan and Sweden is set to kick off at 23:00 UTC.
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