Managerial chaos, defensive collapses, and clinical finishing defined an explosive start for Group F's opening fixtures. Here are five things we learnt.
Group F was previously hyped as a group that could be filled with drama, with any member capable of beating any other member. However, thanks to chaos off the pitch, it has superseded that.
In the first fixture between the Netherlands and Japan, the two heavyweights went toe-to-toe in an enthralling 2-2 draw where substitute Koki Ogawa's header deflected off Daichi Kamada to snatch a point.
In the second fixture, Sweden dispatched Tunisia, 5-1, with a statement victory. Despite this, the real drama came when Tunisia sacked their manager, Sabri Lamouchi, after the game and replaced him with Hervé Renard.
Here are five things we learnt in this opening round.
#1 - Frailties at the back for all teams
In each of the games, none of the teams showed significant defensive prowess. Especially in the case of Sweden, which may sound surprising given they won 5-1. But this was more a case of a lack of quality in the Tunisia side rather than the brilliance of Sweden.
On multiple occasions, Tunisia were able to break dangerously on the break, but their puzzling selection of not playing an out-and-out striker left them with a blunt attack.
Sweden has not kept a clean sheet in 13 games since they played Hungary in the summer of 2025.
As for both the Oranje and the Samurai Blue, set-pieces seem to be their biggest weakness, especially for Japan, despite looking strong in open play. But with both sides, the set-piece goals they conceded could have been avoided if players had been left unmarked.
For the Netherlands, too many times in the second half, they were overloaded, even when they brought Nathan Aké on to consolidate their lead before conceding.
#2 - Malen the heir to depay?
After producing star-studded strikers for decades, the Netherlands have had a shortage of prolific No. 9s of late, and with Memphis Depay not only declining in form but injuries are beginning to take their toll.
However, Malen could be the answer to those problems. At club level, the Roma loanee scored the second most goals in Europe since he signed for the Italian side.
While he failed to score against Japan, it was his movement inside the box that created space for others, as well as being able to make two big chances for himself.
He showed great signs for the games to come against Sweden and Tunisia, where he will have to rely on his movement, rather than pace in behind.
#3 - Tough gig for Renard to walk into
Going into the World Cup, Tunisia were seen as the clear underdog but had one major strength. Their defence. After all, in the 2022 Qatar World Cup, they defeated France 1-0. Even then they did one better and did not concede a goal in qualifying.
However, after poor form leading up to the tournament, they lost 5-0 to Belgium. It all crashed down against Sweden, where mistakes from players and tactics have now made it unlikely they qualify in the 3rd due to goal difference.
The appointment of Renard is a brilliant one as he is one of the best tacticians in the international scene and has a history of rejuvenating struggling sides.
With the Tunisian football federation in chaos both on and off the pitch, and having to play the two biggest sides in the group, you could argue this would be one of his biggest achievements if he were to get Tunisia to progress to the knockouts.
#4 - Nakamura the breakout player
In 2022, Kaoru Mitoma announced himself to the world with a string of excellent performances. Keito Nakamura is seemingly that player for Japan this year.
Traditionally a left-winger for Stade de Reims, Nakamura has operated as a left-wing back who patrols the entirety of the left-hand side.
As something seems to be a trademark of Japanese forwards, the Reims winger stood out for his excellent dribbling ability and his tenacity to put the Dutch defence under pressure.
To top it off, he scored an excellent goal outside the box and could have had more on the day.
#5 - Sweden full of firepower
Despite potential weaknesses defensively, this Sweden side under Graham Potter is packed full of firepower.
Much of the plaudits will go to the likes of Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres, but they have proven they have goals across the squad.
Yasin Ayari demonstrated he has X-factor of his own with two scintillating goals from range. Of course, they are not goals that will be repeated every game, but when the strikers are struggling and they need something special, they know they have Ayari up their sleeve.
Furthermore, Mattias Svanberg scoring straightaway off the bench is a good omen for the future to have multiple players on the scoresheet rather than a reliance on the two strikers.
