World Cup 2026: Netherlands Curaçao Germany Japan must win

The 2026 FIFA World Cup, co‑hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, kicked off with a slate of night‑time group matches across several time zones. Teams including the Netherlands, Curaçao, Germany, Japan and others faced must‑win fixtures to keep their knockout hopes alive. Curaçao, coached by Dick Advocaat, entered their final group game needing a win over Ivory Coast to stay in contention for the knockout stage. Ivory Coast also required a victory to preserve its own chances of advancing. Ecuador, seeking a place in the knockout round, required a positive result against Germany in the last group match. Germany had already secured qualification for the next round, making the encounter a potential upset.

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The Dutch side, led by Ronald Koeman, needed to beat Tunisia after finishing the group stage on top of the table on paper. Tunisia entered the match without points and had already been eliminated from the tournament. Japan, level on points with the Netherlands, relied on a large win over Sweden to claim the top spot in their group. Sweden, meanwhile, still contested for the second place and needed a win to stay in the race.

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In Group D, Australia required only a draw against Paraguay to guarantee progression, while Paraguay could only move up with a victory. Turkey and the United States met in a dead‑rubber match, with Turkey already out and the United States already assured as group winners. VoetbalPrimeur will publish the full match summaries later, omitting the final scores.