Sweden v Tunisia: World Cup 2026 – live
⚽️ Kick-off time: 8pm local/3am BST/10pm EDT/12pm AEST
⚽️ Player guide | Bracketology | Golden Boot | Mail Jonathan
Barney Ronay was in Dallas to enjoy the opening match of Group F that ended in a 2-2 draw between the Netherlands and Japan.
The World Cup continued to produce the unexpected in Arlington. On a throbbingly hot afternoon in the low flat plains outside Dallas the Netherlands and Japan played out an episodically thrilling opening Group F game, Daichi Kamada scoring an 88th-minute equaliser to make it 2-2 just as the Dutch looked like taking an early hold on one of the tougher groups.
There has been so much talk of tired players, format failure and empty seats (the stadium was full here), talk so feverishly committed you wondered at times if it was necessary to play the games at all. But it does feel as though something else has been taking place in the opening games. Maybe – whisper it – the World Cup is actually good.
