The opening game in Group F at the FIFA World Cup 2026 pits two potential dark horses against each other, as Netherlands take on Japan in Dallas.
The Dutch have famously never won the tournament despite reaching the final three times, but they will fancy their chances of progressing to the latter stages in North America. Captain Virgil van Dijk leads a defence boasting impressive strength in depth, while manager Ronald Koeman can call on several top-quality options in midfield including Ryan Gravenberch, Frenkie De Jong and Tijjani Reijnders. However, expectations may have been tempered by two uninspiring warm-up matches, which saw Netherlands lose 1-0 at home to Algeria and edge past Uzbekistan 2-1 thanks to a last-gasp winner.
Japan caught the eye at the 2022 World Cup by beating Germany and Spain to top their group, although they then lost to Croatia on penalties in the last 16. Impressive wins over Brazil and England in the past 12 months have underlined their status as dark horses and they will believe they can take points off Netherlands, on paper the strongest team in Group F. Hajime Moriyasu’s side will be without Brighton forward Kaoru Mitoma and Liverpool’s Takumi Minamino, though, which could harm their chances.
So, read on as we show you exactly how to watch Netherlands vs Japan for free in the FIFA World Cup 2026.
How to watch Netherlands vs Japan for free
Netherlands vs Japan is available to watch for free in multiple countries, including the UK, Australia, Brazil, Belgium, Ireland, Netherlands, Switzerland and Turkey.
Abroad? Can’t access your free stream? Unblock your free World Cup stream with Norton VPN — more on that below.
Use a VPN to watch Netherlands vs Japan live streams
It’s the World Cup, and if you’re traveling, you might discover your usual Netherlands vs Japan stream is suddenly unavailable due to geo-restrictions.
Don’t worry, that’s exactly where a VPN can help. A virtual private network lets you connect to servers around the…
