Group F of the2026 FIFA World Cup will take place from June 14 to 25, 2026.[1] The group consists of theNetherlands,Japan, theUEFA second round Path B winner, andTunisia. The top two teams, possibly along with the third-placed team, will advance to theround of 32.[2]
| Draw position | Team | Pot | Confederation | Method of qualification | Date of qualification | Finals appearance | Last appearance | Previous best performance | FIFA Rankings[3] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 2025[nb 1] | June 2026 | |||||||||
| F1 | 1 | UEFA | UEFA Group G winner | November 17, 2025 | 12th | 2022 | Runner-up (1974,1978,2010) | 7 | ||
| F2 | 2 | AFC | AFC third round Group C winner | March 20, 2025 | 8th | 2022 | Round of 16 (2002,2010,2018,2022) | 18 | ||
| F3 | 4[nb 2] | UEFA | UEFA second round Path B winner | March 31, 2026 | [nb 2] | |||||
| F4 | 3 | CAF | CAF Group H winner | September 8, 2025 | 7th | 2022 | Group stage (1978,1998,2002,2006,2018,2022) | 40 | ||
Notes
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance toknockout stage | |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Possibleknockout stage based onranking | |
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
In theround of 32:[2]
All times listed are local.[1]
The teams have met three times prior, including Netherlands'1–0 group stage victory at the2010 FIFA World Cup.[5] Their most recent meeting took place in 2013, a 2–2 friendly draw.[6]
| Netherlands | Match 11 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| UEFA Path B winner | Match 12 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Netherlands | Match 35 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
The teams have previously met six times, including Japan's2–0 group stage victory at the2002 FIFA World Cup (which they co-hosted with South Korea). Their latest meeting took place in the 2023 Kirin Challenge Cup, which Japan also won by 2–0.[7] This will be the 1000th World Cup match.[8]
| Japan | Match 57 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
The teams have previously faced each other thrice, most recently in a 2009 friendly match that ended in a 1–1 draw.[9]
The team conduct ("fair play") score will be used as a tiebreaker if the head-to-head and overall records of teams are tied. It will also be used as a tiebreaker for thethird-place ranking between groups if the overall records of teams are tied. The score will be calculated based on yellow and red cards received by players and team officials in all group matches as follows:[2]
Only one of the above deductions can be applied to a player or team official in a single match.
| Team | Match 1 | Match 2 | Match 3 | Score | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | |||||||||||||
| 0 | |||||||||||||
| 0 | |||||||||||||
| 0 | |||||||||||||