Group F Deep Dive — All 26-man Squads Confirmed

By late May, all four Group F squads had been finalised. This article is the “sequel” to our Group F Preview (May edition), focusing now on the confirmed 26-man squads: predicted lineups, key players, six match previews and advancement scenarios.

All content here is pre-tournament: drawn from final squads, qualifying and warm-up matches only. No World Cup results are included.

4-team comparison dashboard

	Netherlands	Japan	Sweden	Tunisia
Pot	1	2	3	4
Coach	Ronald Koeman	Hajime Moriyasu	Graham Potter	Sabri Lamouchi
Appointed	2023 (2nd spell)	2022	2025	2025
Squad announced	May 27	May 21	May 12	May 15
Captain	Van Dijk (Liverpool)	Wataru Endo (Liverpool)	Lindelöf (Aston Villa)	Skhiri (Eintracht)
Ace	De Jong (Barcelona)	Takefusa Kubo (Real Sociedad)	Gyökeres (Arsenal) / Isak (Liverpool)	(anchored by Skhiri)
Expected shape	4-3-3	4-2-3-1	4-4-2	4-3-3
WC history	11 appearances / 3× runner-up	7 appearances / 4× R16	13 appearances / 1× runner-up (1958)	7 appearances / group-stage only
Last (2022)	QF (PK to Argentina)	R16 (PK to Croatia)	DNQ	Group stage (beat France)

The “starriest” Netherlands, the most-European-based Japan in history, Sweden with a Gyökeres-Isak twin striker pairing unlike any other Pot 3 nation, and Tunisia leaning on disciplined defending and the Skhiri-Mejbri midfield axis. The four teams’ contrasting profiles mean the Pot-based forecast (Netherlands 1st, Japan 2nd) is far from guaranteed.

Team-by-team deep dive

Netherlands — Koeman’s polished system

Coach: Ronald Koeman (2nd spell since 2023; EURO 1988 winner as a player and a 1990/1994 World Cup veteran. First time managing at a World Cup.)

Squad makeup: 8 Premier League regulars (Van Dijk, Gakpo, Gravenberch, Timber, van de Ven, etc.) leads all four groups; 4 Serie A players (Reijnders, Koopmeiners, Maleen). Van Dijk continues as captain, with young Verbruggen (Brighton) the No.1 keeper.

Predicted XI (4-3-3):

              GK: Verbruggen
RB: Dumfries   CB: Van Dijk   CB: van de Ven   LB: Aké
              CDM: De Jong
   CM: Gravenberch        CM: Reijnders
   RW: Kluivert      ST: Depay      LW: Gakpo

Koeman’s preferred 4-3-3. De Jong anchors midfield, with Reijnders (Man City) and Gravenberch (Liverpool) as modern box-to-box 8s. The front three pairs experienced Depay (51 international goals — all-time top scorer) at No.9 with younger Gakpo (Liverpool) and Kluivert (Bournemouth) wide.

Talking points: Netherlands’ deepest squad since the 2010 runner-up run. The flip side: Koeman’s tournament management and Van Dijk (34) and Dumfries (30)’s closing speed in transitions become the late-stage questions.

Japan — Nakamura must fill Mitoma’s void in the 4-2-3-1

Coach: Hajime Moriyasu (continues from Qatar 2022; second World Cup at the helm)

Squad makeup: 21 of 26 are European-based, a Japanese record. 4 Premier League players (Endo, Kamada, Tanaka, Ito), 4 Bundesliga (Ito Hiroki, Sugawara, Sano, Suzuki Yuito), 4 Eredivisie (Tomiyasu, Itakura, Ueda, Ogawa), 1 La Liga (Kubo) — top 5 European leagues account for almost the entire roster. 39-year-old Yuto Nagatomo earns his fifth consecutive World Cup as the elder statesman.

Notable absences: Kaoru Mitoma (Crystal Palace, recent injury) and Takumi Minamino (Monaco) are not in the squad. Filling the left-wing void is the biggest tactical question — Keito Nakamura (Reims) and Yuito Suzuki (Freiburg) are the chosen replacements.

Predicted XI (4-2-3-1):

              GK: Zion Suzuki (Parma)
RB: Sugawara   CB: Tomiyasu    CB: Itakura    LB: Ito Hiroki
   CDM: Sano      CDM: Endo
RW: Kubo   AM: Kamada    LW: Nakamura
              ST: Ueda

The shape from final qualifying and recent friendlies. Kubo wears the No.10 jersey from the right wing, cutting inside — Japan’s established attacking pattern. Kamada (Crystal Palace) sits in the hole, with Endo + Sano as the double pivot. Ueda (Feyenoord) leads the line as a target striker.

Talking points: Three keys decide Japan’s fate — (1) Can Nakamura own the left where Mitoma used to dominate? (2) Can Tomiyasu (limited minutes this season) reach full match fitness? (3) Can the squad survive Arlington/Monterrey heat?

Sweden — Gyökeres + Isak twin-striker era

Coach: Graham Potter (appointed 2025; former Brighton/Chelsea manager. English, not Swedish, but began his coaching career at Helsingborgs in Sweden.)

Squad makeup: A Premier League-loaded roster (Gyökeres at Arsenal, Isak at Liverpool, Lindelöf at Aston Villa as captain, Elanga at Nottingham Forest). Carries the momentum from a successful Path B playoff run into the tournament.

Predicted XI (4-4-2):

              GK: Johansson
RB: Holm   CB: Isak Hien   CB: Lindelöf   LB: Gudmundsson
   RM: Ayari   CM: Karlström   CM: Svanberg   LM: Elanga
              ST: Gyökeres      ST: Isak

Potter’s preferred twin-striker 4-4-2. Gyökeres (Arsenal, 22 goals in 36 caps and 97 in 102 club games at Sporting CP) + Isak (Liverpool, joined from Newcastle in 2025 for a record fee) form arguably Europe’s most fearsome strike pair.

Talking points: Service to the front two is the question mark. Svanberg (Wolfsburg) is the expected creative midfield link — the accuracy of long balls behind the line will be tested. Defence stays in Sweden’s traditional mould of disciplined organisation, anchored by captain Lindelöf (ex-Manchester United → Aston Villa).

Tunisia — Skhiri + Mejbri midfield axis

Coach: Sabri Lamouchi (appointed 2025; French-Tunisian. Previously managed Nottingham Forest and Al-Nassr.)

Squad makeup: Six Top-5 European league players (Mejbri at Burnley, Skhiri at Frankfurt, Bronn at Salernitana, Khedira at Augsburg, Tounekti at Brann) — strong for a Pot 4 nation. Several Middle East players add an African + European + Gulf hybrid flavour.

Predicted XI (4-3-3):

              GK: Dahmen
RB: Valéry   CB: Bronn   CB: Talbi   LB: Abdi
              CDM: Skhiri
   CM: Khedira        CM: Mejbri
RW: Tounekti   ST: Saâd   LW: Achouri

Lamouchi’s preferred 4-3-3. Ellyes Skhiri (Frankfurt, captain) is the midfield linchpin, with Hannibal Mejbri (Burnley, ex-Manchester United) operating as an attacking-minded 8. The front three favours direct play, with Tounekti (Brann) cutting in from the right and Achouri mirroring from the left.

Talking points: Tunisia famously beat France 1-0 in their final group game at Qatar 2022 (though they exited the group). The giant-killer DNA remains. This time, maintaining the defensive block while building from the Skhiri-Mejbri midfield is the key.

Six-match previews

June 14 (Sun) — NED vs JPN @ Dallas Stadium, Arlington

The opening day of Group F is a modern Japan vs Netherlands clash, their first competitive meeting since the 1-0 loss at South Africa 2010 — 16 years ago. Netherlands’ 4-3-3 (De Jong’s anchor) faces Japan’s 4-2-3-1 (Endo + Sano pivot) in a near-mirror. The Kubo vs Aké duel down Japan’s right will likely determine the attacking quality. Koeman has said Japan must not be underestimated; in the Arlington heat, Japan’s pressing legs could swing the late minutes.

June 14 (Sun) — SWE vs TUN @ Estadio Monterrey, Monterrey

Sweden’s twin strikers vs Tunisia’s defensive organisation — a classic stylistic duel. Can Tunisia’s compact block keep Gyökeres + Isak quiet? Surprisingly the head-to-head sits at Tunisia 1W / Sweden 0W / 3D. The Mexican altitude (~540m) won’t favour the Nordic Swedes.

June 20 (Sat) — NED vs SWE @ Houston Stadium, Houston

A Pot 1 vs Pot 3 heavyweight. Van Dijk and Gyökeres both know each other from the Premier League — whether Van Dijk + van de Ven can contain Gyökeres + Isak is the heart of this match. Both nations scored 8+ goal differentials in qualifying — there’s nothing soft about either attack. A major fork in the advancement race.

June 20 (Sat) — TUN vs JPN @ Estadio Monterrey, Monterrey

A defining moment for Japan’s advancement hopes. Japan won 2-0 in the only previous WC meeting (Japan/Korea 2002, Nakayama goal). 24 years later, they meet again. Cracking Tunisia’s block falls on the Kubo + Kamada + Nakamura triangle. Monterrey’s altitude and June heat make conditioning a key factor. A draw or better significantly advances Japan; a win puts the knockouts in reach.

June 25 (Thu) — JPN vs SWE @ Dallas Stadium, Arlington

The countries have barely met (the only competitive meeting was the 1936 Berlin Olympics — Japan 3-2). Tomiyasu + Itakura’s CB pair vs Gyökeres + Isak is the main attraction. If Japan already has 4 points (e.g. NED-draw, TUN-win), advancement is virtually secured — Moriyasu could rotate. For Sweden, this is also a major test of Potter’s first major-tournament squad.

June 25 (Thu) — TUN vs NED @ Kansas City Stadium, Kansas City

Group decider. Netherlands may have already advanced and could rotate; the top finish still needs to be earned. The Skhiri-Mejbri midfield vs De Jong-Reijnders-Gravenberch is the chess match. Tunisia eyes a repeat of their 1978 giant-kill against Mexico — taking down Europe’s leading side at this World Cup.

H2H highlights

For Japan, this is 16 years since the last NED meeting, effectively first competitive meeting vs SWE, 4 years since the last TUN game. Across the group, recent direct-data is sparse — the May article’s observation that “modern matchups make this group hard to read” still holds even post-squad.

Advancement scenarios + tiebreakers

The expanded 48-team World Cup advances top 2 + 8 best 3rd-placed teams to the Round of 32. Group F has clear Pot-based favourites, but:

Most likely scenario:

1. Netherlands win the group (60-70% probability)
2. Japan or Sweden finish 2nd (close race, each with 3rd-place backup)
3. Tunisia targets a 3rd-place path

The 3rd-place line is ~4 points. 1W-1D-1L (4 points) likely advances among the 8 best thirds. 1D-2L (1 point) is highly unlikely.

FIFA tiebreaker order (revised for 2026):

1. Points → 2. Head-to-head points → 3. H2H goal difference → 4. H2H goals → 5. Overall goal difference → 6. Overall goals → 7. Fair play points → 8. FIFA World Ranking

Key change for 2026: In 2018 and 2022, overall goal difference was the first tiebreaker. From this tournament, results between the tied teams come first. See Tiebreaker explainer.

Group F is shaped so that head-to-head results decide the order. Sweden’s twin strikers still have an incentive to run up scores, but under the 2026 rules, points → goal difference → goals in the matches between tied teams come first.

Japan’s view — the road to a quarter-final

Moriyasu Japan has reached the Round of 16 four straight times (2002 / 2010 / 2018 / 2022) but has never broken through. The realistic goal here is a historic first quarter-final.

Keys to a quarter-final:

1. Calculate the bracket — Winning the group could pair Japan with Group E’s runner-up (Germany’s group) in the R32. Finishing second leads elsewhere. Beating Netherlands to win the group might actually open a softer R32-onwards path.

2. Filling the Mitoma void — Can Keito Nakamura (11 caps) deliver the quality needed on the left in his first World Cup? Junya Ito’s potential use as a wing-back is also in play.

3. Tomiyasu fitness — Ajax minutes have stabilised, but the World Cup demands up to 7 matches. Backup options: Itakura + Taniguchi + Tsuyoshi Watanabe CB rotation.

4. Heat management — Arlington and Monterrey both push 30°C + 60%+ humidity in June. Hydration, substitutions and conditioning will all shape outcomes.

5. PK preparation — Japan lost on penalties to Croatia in 2022 and has a painful PK history. Zion Suzuki (Parma)’s shoot-out form and Moriyasu’s kicker order are the unseen variables.

Netherlands and Sweden (combined 24 World Cup appearances) plus a Pot 4 Tunisia with giant-kill instincts make this a group where no game can be taken lightly. R16 advancement plus a first-ever R32 win must be treated as a single continuous goal — the next 11 days of preparation will decide who actually reaches the level needed.

Related articles:

• Group F Preview (May edition) — Pre-squad reading on draw outcomes and qualifying
• World Cup 2026 Format — 48-team format and the new knockout structure
• Group Tiebreaker Rules — Full ranking rules

For each nation’s 26-man squad, predicted XI, featured players and recent national-team matches, jump from the World Cup 2026 hub to each country’s squad page.