World Cup night features Germany, Netherlands, and historic debuts

The fourth day of the 2026 World Cup brings eight more teams into action overnight from Sunday into Monday, with Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Ivory Coast, Tunisia and others on the schedule. The headline fixture is Germany against Curaçao at 8:00 p.m., followed by Netherlands versus Japan at 11:00 p.m., Ivory Coast against Ecuador at 2:00 a.m., and Sweden against Tunisia at 5:00 a.m.

Germany, the 2014 world champions, have failed to get past the group stage in their last two World Cups and are looking to reassert themselves. Curaçao will make its first-ever World Cup appearance, and Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer is expected to return to the national team and play his 20th World Cup match, tying Hugo Lloris for the all-time record for a goalkeeper.

Curaçao’s squad is built largely around players developed in Dutch academies, and its population of about 185,000 is smaller than Tel Aviv’s or Holon’s. The article notes that while Germany may not face much resistance in this match, surprises remain possible in the tournament.

Netherlands versus Japan is described as the evening’s main attraction and one of the most intriguing games in the group stage. The Netherlands are ranked 8th in FIFA’s rankings and Japan 18th, and both teams have gone more than a year without losing an official match. The Dutch have reached at least the quarterfinals in three of their last four World Cups, including the 2010 final, while Japan is in its eighth straight World Cup and has reached the round of 16 four times.

Ivory Coast returns to the World Cup for the first time since 2014 and is trying to revive memories of its early-2000s peak, when Didier Drogba led a feared side. Ecuador is appearing in its second straight World Cup, has reached the round of 16 only once, in 2006, and relies on striker Enner Valencia, who scored twice in its opening match at the previous tournament. Sweden reached the tournament via the Nations League route after finishing last in its qualifying group with only two points, and Tunisia qualified from African qualifying and is in its third straight World Cup after a run of just one win in warm-up matches.