FIFA World Cup: The three-time finalists the Netherlands and Asia's highest-ranked nation Japan kick off their FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign in a Group F match on Monday.
The Netherlands have contested three FIFA World Cup finals from 11 previous successful qualifications (1934, 1938, 1974, 1978, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2022) and reached the knockout phase of every tournament they have participated in from 1974 onwards.
The Netherlands made their World Cup bow at the 1934 tournament in Italy, but were eliminated in the first round. They returned to the global stage in 1938, before a 36-year, six-tournament absence which only ended in 1974, when they reached the final in West Germany, before making their second successive final in 1978 in Argentina). They marked their third FIFA World Cup final in 2010 in South Africa.
