The opening match in Group F takes place at the Dallas Stadium on Sunday evening as the Netherlands take on Japan in what should be a fascinating clash.
The Netherlands have qualified for the World Cup finals for the eighth time from their last 10 attempts, as they topped their World Cup qualifying group, finishing three points clear of nearest challengers, Poland.
Ronald Koeman’s men were unbeaten in qualifying (W6-D2-L0), scoring 27 goals and conceding just four times, but did draw both games with the Poles 1-1.
The Dutch suffered penalty heartache in Qatar in the previous World Cup, losing to eventual winners Argentina in the quarter-finals.
Japan qualified for their seventh consecutive World Cup finals by topping their World Cup qualifying group, finishing four points clear of second-placed Australia and a mammoth 10 ahead of third-placed Saudi Arabia.
Hajime Moriyasu’s men also suffered penalty heartbreak in Qatar, as they were beaten in the Round of 16 by eventual semi-finalists Croatia, after memorably defeating both Germany and Spain in the group stages.
How the bookies view it: Dutch favourites
The Netherlands are favourites to make a winning start in Group F, with bet365 pricing them at 19/20 to collect all three points.
Japan are 27/10 to claim another European scalp, whilst the draw is 13/5.
Head to head: History in favour of the Dutch
These two nations have previously met on three occasions, with the Netherlands winning two of their clashes, with the other resulting in a draw.
One of those victories came in the group stages of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, as Wesley Sneijder scored the only goal of the game.
Players to watch: Gakpo to grab another goal?
Cody Gakpo was in fine form for the Dutch in World Cup qualifying, as he scored four goals and provided four assists across their eight qualifiers.
The Liverpool frontman scored in all three group stage matches in Qatar in 2022, and he is an appealing 11/10 to Score or Assist at bet365.
Backed a player to find the net? Check our Goalscorer Betting guide to see how the markets work and where to find value.
Predicted line-ups:
The Netherlands will be missing the injured Jurrien Timber, Matthijs de Ligt, Jerdy Schouten and Xavi Simons, whilst goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen is a major doubt.
Japan will be without the injured Kaoru Mitoma, Takumi Minamino and captain Wataru Endo, with the Liverpool midfielder subsequently retiring from international football.
Netherlands: Flekken, Dumfries, van Hecke, van Dijk, van de Ven, De Jong, Gravenberch, Reijnders, Summerville, Gakpo, Malen
Japan: Suzuki, Tomiyasu, Itakura, Watanabe, Dolan, Kamada, Tanaka, Nakamura, Kubo, Ito, Ueda
Anything else catch the eye?
Given the attacking talent on display for both teams, this has the makings to be an entertaining encounter, with goals looking likely.
The Netherlands scored 27 goals across their eight World Cup qualifiers, but conceded in both matches against their nearest challengers, Poland.
Japan scored 30 goals across their 10 World Cup qualifiers – and whilst they only conceded three times – it’s hard to envisage them shutting out the Dutch here.
GambleAware