Netherlands keeps perfect group-stage streak alive and draws Morocco next

The Netherlands continued its strong run at the 2026 World Cup, beating Tunisia 3-1 to finish first in Group F and advance to the knockout stage against Morocco. The Dutch entered the tournament hoping to go deep, and so far they have looked like a team capable of doing it.

This is the fourth straight World Cup in which the Netherlands has advanced from the group stage as group winner. Its last second-place finish in a World Cup group came in 2006, when Argentina finished above it. More broadly, since 1994, the Dutch have topped their World Cup group in six of the seven tournaments they have played.

Brian Brobbey again stole the spotlight, scoring his third goal of the tournament. Dutch coverage said he was central to the team’s advantage, noting that his presence led Elies Skhiri to score an own goal, and that Brobbey himself then was involved in the second goal a few minutes later.

Virgil van Dijk said the team played well in large stretches but lost control late in the first half and at the start of the second. Looking ahead to Morocco, he said, “It is a great team with a lot of quality, but it is also vulnerable, we will need to try to exploit that. We still have a few days to prepare, and we are very much looking forward to it.”