The Netherlands are longing for a World Cup win. After second-place finishes in 1974, 1978, and 2010, Oranje are seen as the best team never to have won the World Cup in the competition's rich history.
Will 2026 finally be the year for the Dutch? Will Virgil van Dijk, Frenkie de Jong, Denzel Dumfries, Cody Gakpo, and Ryan Gravenberch finally bring the World Cup trophy home? If they want to win it all, it's best to look at the potential road to the final.
The Netherlands' World Cup group opponents
To start their tournament, the Netherlands will first face three opponents in their group.
Oranje were drawn into Group F with Japan, Sweden, and Tunisia - a doable, yet tricky group. The Netherlands will play on the following dates:
Sunday, June 14th: The Netherlands - Japan (22.00 CEST) - Dallas, TX
Saturday, June 20th: The Netherlands - Sweden (19.00 CEST) - Houston, TX
Friday, June 26th: Tunisia - The Netherlands (01.00 CEST) - Kansas City, MO
Finishing first or second in the group will see the Netherlands progress to the Round of 32. If Oranje finish third, they'll have to hope to be among the eight best third-placed teams across the 12 groups. Finishing bottom of the group, or being among the four worst third-placed teams means elimination for the Netherlands.
The Netherlands' potential Round of 32 opponents
If the Netherlands win their group, they will face the runners-up of Group C in the round of 32. That meant that Oranje would face one of the following teams:
Brazil, Haiti, Morocco, Scotland
This game would take place on Monday, June 29th, in Monterrey, Mexico. Kick-off is set at 03.00 CEST on Tuesday, June 30th.
If the Netherlands finish as runners-up in Group F, they will face the winners of Group C on Wednesday, June 29th, at 19:00 CEST in Houston, TX.
If the Netherlands finish third in Group F and among the eight best third-placed teams, they'll play in one of the following matchups:
Match 74 - Monday, June 29th: vs Winner of Group E (22:30 CEST) - Boston, MA
Match 77 - Tuesday, June 30th: vs Winner of Group I (23:00 CEST) - New Jersey, NJ
Match 79 - Wednesday, July 1st: vs Winner of Group A (03.00 CEST) - Mexico City, Mexico
Match 81 - Thursday, July 2nd: vs Winner of Group D (02:00 CEST) - San Francisco, CA
Match 85 - Friday, July 3rd: vs Winner of Group B (05.00 CEST) - Vancouver, Canada
That means that the Netherlands could face any of the following opponents:
Czech Republic, Mexico, South Africa, South Korea (Group A)
Bosnia & Herzegovina, Canada, Qatar, Switzerland (Group B)
Australia, Paraguay, Turkey, United States (Group D)
Curacao, Ecuador, Germany, Ivory Coast (Group E)
France, Iraq, Norway, Senegal (Group I)
The Netherlands' potential Round of 16 opponents
If the Netherlands win their group and beat the runners-up of Group C, they'll face the winners of Match 73 (Group A runners-up against Group B runners-up) in the round of 16 on Saturday, July 4th, at 19.00 CEST in Houston, TX. Those groups consist of the following teams:
Czech Republic, Mexico, South Africa, South Korea (Group A)
Bosnia & Herzegovina, Canada, Qatar, Switzerland (Group B)
If the Netherlands finish second in their group and beat the winners of Group C, they'll face the winners of Match 78 (Group E runners-up against Group I runners-up) in the round of 16 on Sunday, July 5th, at 22.00 CEST in New Jersey, NJ. Those groups consist of the following teams:
Curacao, Ecuador, Germany, Ivory Coast (Group E)
France, Iraq, Norway, Senegal (Group I)
If the Netherlands finish third in their group and beat the winners of Group A, B, D, E, or I, they will play in one of the following games:
Match 89 - Saturday, July 4th: vs Winners of Match 74 (Group E winners vs Group A/B/C/D/F third place) - 23.00 CEST, Philadelphia, PA
Match 89 - Saturday, July 4th: vs Winners of Match 77 (Group I winners vs Group C/D/F/G/H third place) - 23.00 CEST, Philadelphia, PA
Match 92 - Monday, July 6th: vs Winners of Match 80 (Group L winners vs Group E/H/I/J/K third place) - 02.00 CEST, Mexico City, Mexico
Match 94 - Tuesday, July 7th: vs Winners of Match 82 (Group G winners vs Group A/E/H/I/J third place - 02.00 CEST, Seattle, WA
Match 96 - Tuesday, July 7th: vs Winners of Match 87 (Group K winners vs Group E/F/G/I/J third place) - 22.00 CEST, Vancouver, Canada
That means that the Netherlands could face every single team in the tournament, including their own group opponents.
The Netherlands' potential quarterfinal opponents
If the Netherlands win their round-of-16 game as group winners, they would face the winners of Match 89 in the quarterfinals. That match will involve the winners of Match 74 (Group E winners vs Group A/B/C/D/F third place) and Match 77 (Group I winners vs Group C/D/F/G/H third place). This quarterfinal is scheduled for Thursday, June 9th, at 22.00 CEST in Boston, MA.
That means that these teams could be Oranje's opponents in Match 97:
Czechia, Mexico, South Africa, South Korea (Group A)
Bosnia & Herzegovina, Canada, Qatar, Switzerland (Group B)
Brazil, Haiti, Morocco, Scotland (Group C)
Australia, Paraguay, Turkey, United States (Group D)
Japan, Sweden, Tunisia (Group F)
Belgium, Egypt, Iran, New Zealand (Group G)
Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Uruguay (Group H)
If the Netherlands finish second in their group and win their round-of-16 game, they would face the winners of Match 92. That match will involve the winners of Match 79 (Group A winners vs Group C/E/F/H/I third place) and Match 80 (Group L winners vs Group E/H/I/J/K third place). This quarterfinal is scheduled for Saturday, July 11th, at 22.00 CEST in Miami, FL.
That means that these teams could face Oranje in Match 99:
Czechia, Mexico, South Africa, South Korea (Group A)
Brazil, Haiti, Morocco, Scotland (Group C)
Curacao, Ecuador, Germany, Ivory Coast (Group E)
Japan, Sweden, Tunisia (Group F)
Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Uruguay (Group H)
France, Iraq, Norway, Senegal (Group I)
Algeria, Argentina, Austria, Jordan (Group J)
Colombia, D.R. Congo, Portugal, Uzbekistan (Group K)
If the Netherlands finish third in their group and win their round-of-16 game, they could feature in any of the four quarterfinal matchups, depending on which round-of-16 match they played. Oranje could therefore meet any of the other 47 nations in one of these quarterfinals:
Match 97 - Thursday, July 9th: vs Winner of Match 90 - 22:00 CEST, Boston, MA
Match 98 - Friday, July 10th: vs Winner of Match 93 - 21:00 CEST, Los Angeles, CA
Match 99 - Saturday, July 11th: vs Winner of Match 91 - 23:00 CEST, Miami, FL
Match 100 - Sunday, July 12th: vs Winner of Match 95 - 03:00 CEST, Kansas City, MO
The Netherlands' potential semifinal opponents
If the Netherlands win their quarterfinal game as group winners, they would face the winners of Match 98 in the first of the two semifinals. In that matchup, they could face opponents from every World Cup group, except Group C (Brazil, Haiti, Morocco, Scotland).
Match 101 - Tuesday, July 14th: vs Winner of Match 98 - 21:00 CEST, Dallas (Arlington), TX
If the Netherlands reach the semifinals having finished second in their group, they will play in the second semifinal.
Match 102 - Wednesday, July 15th: vs Winner of Match 100 - 21:00 CEST, Atlanta, GA
If the Netherlands reach the semifinals having finished third in their group, they could feature in either of the two matches, depending on which quarterfinal they played in.
Final and Third-place playoff
The dates and times for the Third-place Play-off and World Cup Final are as follows:
Match 103 - Saturday, July 18th: Third-place Play-off - 23:00 CEST, Miami, FL
Match 104 - Sunday 19th July: World Cup Final - 21:00 CEST, New Jersey, NJ