At 8:00 p.m. in Houston, the Netherlands meet Sweden in Group 6, with Ronald Koeman's side needing a victory to keep alive its chance of finishing first. The Dutch opened with a 2-2 draw against Japan after leading twice, while Sweden impressed in its opener with a 5-1 win over Tunisia and can take a major step toward the top spot with another victory. The teams have played eight competitive matches before, with the Netherlands winning three, Sweden once, and four ending level. Their last competitive meeting came on October 10, 2017 in 2018 World Cup qualifying, when the Netherlands won 2-0. They also met once at a World Cup, drawing 0-0 in the 1974 group stage, the tournament in which Johan Cruyff's Netherlands reached the final and lost to West Germany.
At 11:00 p.m. in Group 5, Germany face Ivory Coast in a match that could decide first place if there are no major surprises in the final round. Both sides won in the opening round, with Germany crushing Curacao 7-1, and so the Germans enter as favorites, though they remain wary after failing to get out of the group in the last two World Cups. Ivory Coast needed a late winner to beat Ecuador and has enough talent to trouble the Germans. The teams have met only once before, a 2-2 friendly in Germany in November 2019. Germany's World Cup record against African teams is five wins, two draws, and one loss, while Ivory Coast has beaten European opposition at the tournament only once, alongside two defeats and two draws.
In the same group, Ecuador and Curacao, the two opening-round losers, meet at 3:00 a.m. between Saturday and Sunday for their first points of the tournament. Ecuador came close in its opener but lost to Ivory Coast on a stoppage-time goal, while Curacao briefly stunned Germany by leveling the score before collapsing in the second half and conceding four more goals.
On Sunday at 7:00 a.m. in Group 6, Japan and Tunisia play for a crucial result. Japan twice came from behind against the Netherlands and nearly stole a late win through a 89th-minute header by Daichi Kamada, and a victory would almost certainly send it into the next round. Tunisia, coming off a 5-1 defeat to Sweden and the ensuing dismissal of its coach, will try to rebound from that humiliation and put itself in strong position for the knockout stage.
