Japan at the World Cup 2026
Group F · AFC
Japan are round of 16 four times and line up in Group F at the 2026 FIFA World Cup — the first 48-team edition of the tournament, co-hosted by the United States, Canada, Mexico. They face Sweden, Netherlands, Tunisia in the group stage. For US (soccer) fans, all Japan kickoff times below are shown in Eastern and Pacific as well as GMT. Below: the full Japan schedule, kickoff times, group rivals and our model's match predictions.
Japan World Cup 2026 Schedule
Kickoff times in US Eastern (ET) and Pacific (PT) are converted automatically from each match's scheduled time; confirm against your local broadcaster.
Japan's World Cup 2026 group: how hard is it?
Drawn into Group F, Japan share their section with Sweden, Netherlands, Tunisia. None of the rivals have lifted the trophy before, so on paper this is one of the more open groups — qualification is there for the taking. With four confederations potentially represented, styles clash here, and the new 48-team format means the top two go through automatically while the third-placed side still has a realistic route into the Round of 32.
Japan's opening fixtures and what to watch
Japan open against Netherlands (away), then meet Tunisia before closing the group against Sweden. Group-stage points are usually decided in the first two matchdays, so that opener carries real weight. Our prediction model reads each of these games through recent form, opponent strength and a Dixon-Coles Poisson grid — see the projected scorelines and win probabilities on our World Cup 2026 predictions page.
Japan World Cup history
Historically, Japan's best World Cup return is round of 16 four times. In 2026 they travel to North America, with matches spread across the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Group F — Japan's rivals
For match-by-match analysis and predicted scorelines, see our World Cup predictions. You can also view the full Group F table and fixtures, browse all 12 groups and the knockout bracket, or check the complete World Cup 2026 schedule with US kickoff times.