World Cup second round: Netherlands vs Sweden, Germany vs Ivory Coast set for Saturday
Four second-round matches in Groups E and F of the 2026 FIFA World Cup will take place on Saturday night and early Sunday, including a clash between the Netherlands and Sweden in Houston.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup continues on Saturday, June 20, and into early Sunday with four second-round matches in Groups E and F. The games will be broadcast on TV6 and the Go3 platform.
Group F: Netherlands vs Sweden
At 8:00 PM local time (2:00 AM Sunday in Latvia), the Netherlands will face Sweden at Houston's NRG Stadium (capacity over 72,000). The Netherlands drew 2-2 with Japan in their opener in Arlington, with goals from Virgil van Dijk and Crysencio Summerville. Sweden, coached by Graham Potter, thrashed Tunisia 5-1 in Monterrey, with Yasin Ajarri scoring twice, and Viktor Gyökeres, Alexander Isak, and Mattias Svanberg each adding one.
The teams last met in 2018 World Cup qualifying, drawing 1-1 in Sweden and a 2-0 home win for the Netherlands. They last faced in a major tournament at Euro 2004 quarterfinals, where the Dutch won on penalties.
Sweden has no expected lineup changes. Netherlands will miss Quinten Timber, who suffered a concussion in training after coming off the bench in the first match. His twin brother Jurriën Timber was already ruled out before the tournament due to injury.
Group E: Germany vs Ivory Coast
At 11:00 PM, Germany will play Ivory Coast in Toronto. Germany opened with a 7-1 demolition of Curaçao, with Kai Havertz scoring twice, and one each from Felix Nmecha, Nico Schlotterbeck, Jamal Musiala, Nathaniel Brown, and Deniz Undav. Ivory Coast beat Ecuador 1-0, with Amad Diallo scoring in the final minute of regular time.
The teams have met only once before, a 2-2 friendly in 2009. Ivory Coast defender Evan Ndicka is still recovering from injury, while forward Elie Wai resolved visa issues and has joined the squad.
Other matches
At 3:00 AM, Ecuador will face Curaçao in Kansas City; both lost their openers. Curaçao's only goal so far came from Livano Comenencia.
At 7:00 AM, Tunisia will take on Japan in Monterrey, Mexico. Tunisia's lone goal against Sweden came from Omar Rekik, while Japan's goals against the Netherlands were scored by Daichi Kamada and Keito Nakamura. Tunisia appointed Hervé Renard as head coach after Sabri Lamouchi was fired following the opening loss.
After the first round, Germany leads Group E with 3 points, followed by Ivory Coast (3), Ecuador (0), and Curaçao (0). In Group F, Sweden leads (3), then Japan and Netherlands (1 each), and Tunisia (0).
