🇳🇱 Netherlands vs 🇸🇪 Sweden

The Netherlands haven't won a major trophy since Euro 1988 — which, given the quality of players they've produced since, is a remarkable track record of almost-but-not-quite. They reached the 2010 World Cup final and lost in extra time. Still waiting.

The squad includes Virgil van Dijk at the back, Cody Gakpo up front, and 22-year-old Xavi Simons, who's been brilliant for PSG and is the player Dutch fans are most excited about. Mentioning Simons makes you sound like you've been paying attention.

Their manager Ronald Koeman scored the winning goal in that 1988 final. He's been through a difficult rebuild to get to this point — lost his job once, came back — and this squad might genuinely be the one capable of ending the wait.

Netherlands are in Group F with Japan, Sweden and Tunisia. Japan beat Germany and Spain at the last World Cup. They are not a comfortable opener. Nobody in Europe has quite worked out how to play Japan yet, which is going to make that first match very interesting.

The Dutch are one of those teams where the sum is somehow less than its parts at every tournament. Individually brilliant, collectively inconsistent. If they've solved that, they could go very deep. If they haven't, they'll go out in the quarters and everyone will have opinions about why.

Sweden are one of the more underrated sides at the tournament. Without Zlatan Ibrahimović for the first time in 20 years, they've actually found a more cohesive team identity — built around collective effort rather than one superstar. Which sounds like a consolation but is genuinely working.

Dejan Kulusevski of Tottenham and Alexander Isak of Newcastle are their best players — both Premier League regulars, both performing at a high level. Sweden with Premier League forwards is a different proposition than Sweden everyone remembers from ten years ago.

They're in Group F with Netherlands, Japan and Tunisia. Netherlands are strong favourites, but Sweden could realistically compete for second place if their defensive solidity holds up against Japan's pressing.

Sweden reached the quarter-finals of the 2018 World Cup without Zlatan — a result that surprised many and showed the squad had genuine quality that wasn't just about one player. The current generation continues that approach.

Swedish football historically produces technically disciplined, hard-working players — and the current squad reflects that well. They're not exciting in the way that gets people emotional, but they're effective in the way that wins tournament games.