In the 1,000th match at the World Cup finals, Hajime Moriyasu made history by becoming the first Japan coach to oversee three wins for the nation at the tournament with a 4-0 win over Tunisia in Monterrey.
Should his side reach the last 32, Moriyasu hinted he would prefer to return to the Mexican city by winning Group F, which would require avoiding defeat against Sweden in Arlington on Friday and bettering the Netherlands’ result against eliminated Tunisia in the simultaneous closing fixture in the section.
“The stadium in Monterrey was absolutely wonderful,” said Moriyasu. “The Mexican people really supported us.
“It was a stadium and an atmosphere where we could play boldly and with a feeling of happiness. As for whether we will play in Monterrey next, only God can know.
“We just want to give it our all, accept the result from there and then prepare for the knockout stage.”
Sweden must beat Japan to guarantee going through, having thrashed Tunisia 5-1 in their opening match and lost to Oranje by the same scoreline.
The defeat was Blagult’s heaviest at the World Cup since 1950, damaging their hopes of extending their run of reaching the knockout phase in each of their last four appearances at the tournament.
“We try to put as much into perspective as we can,” said head coach Graham Potter. “You watch the game between the Netherlands and Japan and they are two really, really good teams.
“The players are honest and have always taken responsibility. It’s not really the time for second-guessing where you may or may not finish or who you may or may not get. We’re not really in that place.”
| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 4 |
| Japan | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 4 |
| Sweden | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 3 |
| Tunisia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 9 | -8 | 0 |
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World Cup 2026: Japan v Sweden team news
Winger Takefusa Kubo – known by some of his fans as the Japanese Messi – has not travelled with Japan after sustaining an injury to his left knee during their opening 2-2 draw against the Netherlands.
Leeds’ Ao Tanaka replaced Kubo against Tunisia, with Crystal Palace’s Daichi Kamada scoring the opener and impressing after moving to a midfield anchor role.
Sweden could switch to a back four after Potter enacted the change during the defeat to the Netherlands.
Lucas Bergvall, Anthony Elanga – who scored four minutes after coming on – and Besfort Zeneli replaced Alexander Bernhardsson, Benjamin Nygren and Jesper Karlstrom 10 minutes into the second half in Houston.
“We’re so close but, clearly, against the Netherlands we were too far away,” accepted Potter. “There are players who are pushing to play, who deserve to play by how they’ve trained.”
Japan v Sweden: World Cup 2026 predicted line-ups
Japan starting XI: Zion Suzuki, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Ko Itakura, Hiroki Ito, Ritsu Doan, Kaishu Sano, Ao Tanaka, Keito Nakamura, Junya Ito, Ayase Ueda, Daichi Kamada
Sweden starting XI: Kristoffer Nordfeldt, Gustaf Lagerbielke, Isak Hien, Victor Lindelof, Anthony Elanga, Besfort Zeneli, Jesper Karlstrom, Yasin Ayari, Gabriel Gudmundsson, Viktor Gyokeres, Alexander Isak
Where to watch Japan v Sweden: TV channel, live online streams
Kick-off on Friday is at 00:00 BST (19:00 ET / 16:00 PT). In the UK, live coverage is on BBC Two.
Streaming on a vast range of devices is available through the BBC iPlayer app and BBC Sport website.
World Cup 2026: Japan v Sweden stats
- Japan are at an eighth straight World Cup since 1998, which is the second-longest run of consecutive participations by an Asian nation behind South Korea’s current ubiquity of 11
- They have never advanced beyond the round of 16 and hold the record for the most matches played without ever reaching the quarter-finals (25)
- With 54 goals, Japan scored more than any other team in the AFC qualifiers, including a 3-0 forfeit victory against North Korea. Outside of the hosts, Japan were the first nation to qualify
- Three Japan players were involved in at least 10 goals in qualifying: Kubo (4 goals, 8 assists), Junya Ito (1 goal, 10 assists) and Ayase Ueda (8 goals, 2 assists)
- Hajime Moriyasu is the only head coach to manage Japan in more than 100 matches, having taken
charge in July 2018, and the first to lead Japan at two World Cup tournaments, having guided them
to the last 16 in 2022, when they were eliminated on penalties by Croatia - Sweden are at their 13th FIFA Cup and their first since the 2018 edition, when they were eliminated by England in the quarter-finals; they have progressed to the second stage in each of their last four (1992, 2002, 2006 and 2018)
- They finished fourth in their qualifying group behind Switzerland, Kosovo and Slovenia (D2 L4) but qualified through the European play-off path thanks to their Nations League ranking
- Viktor Gyokeres scored four of Sweden’s six goals in the play-offs, netting a hat-trick against Ukraine in their semi-final (3-1) and an 88th-minute winner in the final against Poland (3-2), the side who beat Sweden in a play-off final for the 2022 World Cup
- Potter is the first English head coach to manage Sweden at a World Cup since George Raynor in 1958
- Raynor guided Sweden to the final that year, representing their best-ever run before losing the decider 5-2 to Brazil
World Cup 2026: Japan v Sweden prediction
Japan 1-0 Sweden
An improved Sweden display may not suffice to avoid defeat against Japan, who have lost one of their last 15 matches including friendlies. Along the way, the Samurai Blue won each of their three meetings with European teams 1-0 before equalising twice against the Netherlands.
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