It's time for Matchday 2 for Group E and F, and we might get some clarity on whether Germany are real deal contenders to win the World Cup when they take on Côte d’Ivoire. All eyes will also be on Japan, who could put themselves in position to pip Netherlands for first place in their group if they can put up a big number on Tunisia.
Dave Clark
Today's games
Netherlands vs. Sweden
Time: 10 am Pacific
Where: NRG Stadium, Houston, TX
TV: Fox, Telemundo
Online: Tubi, Fox One, Peacock
Germany vs. Côte d’Ivoire
Time: 1 pm Pacific
Where: BMO Field, Toronto, ON
TV: Fox, Telemundo
Online: Tubi, Fox One, Peacock
Ecuador vs. Curaçao
Time: 5 pm Pacific
Where: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, MO
TV: FS1, Telemundo
Online: Tubi, Fox One, Peacock
Tunisia vs. Japan
Time: 9 pm Pacific
Where: Estadio BBVA, Monterrey, NL
TV: FS1, Telemundo
Online: Tubi, Fox One, Peacock
The new issue of IV: The Sounder at Heart magazine is now available for pre-order. Issue 2 will focus on Seattle’s role in the 2026 World Cup.
What’s interesting today?
Germany are one of world soccer’s historical powerhouses and coming off of a Euros where it took extra time for eventual champions Spain to beat them in one of the best matches of the tournament. They’re led by one of the best managers around, Julian Nagelsmann, and their squad is littered with top players from the best clubs in Europe.
And yet they came into the tournament only as seventh favorites to win the World Cup, with odds more than four times as high as France and Spain. Why?
Most of Germany’s doubts laid in their midfield. Aleksander Pavlović is an excellent player, but he’s just 22 and playing in his first major tournament. Joshua Kimmich has been one of the best players in the world for ages, but he’s 31 years old and needed at right back. Angelo Stiller is one of the most underrated midfielders in Europe, but he’s only been used sparingly by Germany. Felix Nmecha had a total of eight caps coming in.
Would Nagelsmann be able to assemble a midfield that could stand up to the best teams in the world now that Toni Kroos, Emre Can and Ilkay Gündogan have moved on?
In their opener, the answer was a resounding yes. They dictated play and pinned Curaçao in their own half for essentially the entire match, picking up every free ball and immediately pushing it back into the attacking third. It started with Pavlović and Nmecha, then Leon Goretzka entered and kept things humming.
The caveat, of course, is that they were playing Curaço. The Blue Wave are better than most give them credit for, having done well to recruit solid professionals from the diaspora that has given them the quality of a mid-table Eredivisie club. They’re competent and well-drilled. Beating them isn’t just a walk in the park, and Germany didn’t just beat them. They thrashed Curaçao, 7-1.
Today, things get a little bit tougher as they take on Côte d’Ivoire in Toronto. While this isn’t the Elephants of old, with Didier Drogba, Salomon Kalou and the Toure brothers, they are a solid team that defeated Ecuador in their first match of the tournament.
Maybe most impressively, Emerse Faé set Côte d’Ivoire up beautifully, baiting a good defensive Ecuador team out just enough to create chances. Faé will assuredly have another smart tactical plan to take on Germany, presenting a sterner test for Nagelsmann’s midfield.
Franck Kessié and Seko Fofana are two strong central midfielders and Yan Diomande is a dynamite winger, forcing Germany’s midfield to hold their own both with and without the ball.
If Germany’s midfield is up to this test, those odds to win the World Cup are going to get even better.
We know Germany have a good defense, Florian Wirtz looked fabulous in the opener, Jamal Musiala is showing signs of recovering fro last summer’s brutal injury and Kai Havertz is playing the best soccer of his career. Die Mannschaft just need a midfield to match and today will give us another clue as to whether they’ve got it.
Japan were some people’s dark horse pick to make a surprise run at this World Cup, but much of that excitement was tempered in the run up to the tournament when Kaoru Mitoma, Wataru Endo and Takumi Minamino were all ruled out with injuries.
How many teams in the world can lose their two best players, one the midfield engine and the other an elite 1v1 attacker, plus a top flight forward, and still thrive? Not many, but Japan are one of them.
The Samurai Blue have such depth of talent that they can put Kaishu Sano in Endo’s place and Daizen Maeda in Mitoma’s and keep humming. Shuto Machino and Ao Tanaka are merely bench options on this Japan team. Hell, Sota Kawasaki didn’t even make the roster.
So despite the injuries, Japan could walk into the World Cup and promptly take a point against Netherlands. They didn’t do it by parking the bus or looking for the ball to bounce right on a counterattack. The Dutch didn’t have to make a mistake for the Samurai Blue to snag a result. They simply played one of Europe’s traditional powers toe-to-toe and were found to be equal.
Now Japan’s task gets a bit easier as they take on Tunisia. They’re expected to win, but it’s worth watching just how much they win by. Because they’ve already drawn Netherlands, their most likely competitor for first place in Group F, goal difference could be what determines who finishes in first place. Beating Tunisia 2-0 may be good, but if they can win by four or five, that could prove crucial.
This is the type of conversation Japan have put themselves in - group winners and paths for a deep knockout stage run are front of mind for the Samurai Blue, even if they are short-handed.
The margins are similarly slim for teams hoping to advance as a third place finisher.
The way out for them is winning the easiest game on your slate and keeping your goal difference in good shape. That's not good for Curaçao, who are sitting on a -6 goal difference, but Ecuador have a chance to put themselves in a good place today.
If Ecuador beat Curaçao, they'll have the three points they need heading into the last matchday and a goal difference that's no worse than even. If they can run past the Blue Wave by several goals, they'll even be sitting pretty.
In the new era of the 48-team World Cup, it isn't just in who wins and loses. It's about keeping tabs of every scoreline.
