The Dutch, after reaching the semifinals of the Euros, calmly won their qualification group with 20 points in eight matches, three more than second-placed Poland. Their results in friendlies were also decent, though in March they were held to a draw by Ecuador. In June, they even lost to Algeria. Later, they barely avoided embarrassment against Uzbekistan but managed to snatch victory at the last moment.
Japan was one of the first teams to secure a place at yet another World Cup. Ultimately, they topped their qualifying group with 23 points from ten matches. They continued to win in friendlies, including an away victory over England in March. Ahead of the tournament, they repeated a 1-0 scoreline against Iceland in their only warm-up match.
The Europeans play a dynamic game: scoring 2.2 goals per match and conceding much less—just 0.8 per game. The Far East representatives score less, averaging 1.4 goals, but also concede fewer—about 0.6 per match.
Previous Matches: Netherlands vs Japan
The Dutch won the first two head-to-head encounters, but in 2013, in a friendly at home, they only managed a 2-2 draw.
There isn’t much belief in Kubo and company, but they’ve looked more consistent than Koeman’s side lately. We predict that the nominal visitors will not lose (odds – 1.87).
Netherlands vs Japan: Key Statistics and Trends
Netherlands have won one of their last three matches
60% of Netherlands’ matches end with goals from both teams and the average total goals per match is 3.0
Japan has won six matches in a row
20% of Japan’s matches end with goals from both teams and the average total goals per match is 2.0
Netherlands vs Japan: Possible Starting Lineups
Netherlands play in a 1-4-3-3 formation (possible lineup): Verbruggen – van de Ven, van Dijk, van Hecke, Dumfries – Reijnders, de Jong, Gravenberch – Gakpo, Malen, Summerville. Timber had to be left out at the last moment.
Japan play in a 1-3-4-2-1 formation (possible lineup): Suzuki – Itakura, Yoshida, Tomiyasu – Nakamura, Tanaka, Endo, Doan – Ito, Kubo – Ueda.
