WC 2002-2022
Netherlands vs Sweden
No meeting in this window
—
WC 2026 · HEAD-TO-HEAD · GROUP F MEETING
🇳🇱
Netherlands
GROUP FFIFA #717 PL
vs
🇸🇪
Sweden
GROUP FFIFA #386 PL
WHAT THIS MATCHUP MEANS
The story before a ball is kicked
Netherlands arrive in Group F as the top-fifteen FIFA seed with 17 Premier League players in their squad. Sweden share that group as the underdog seed with 6 PL regulars.
The two meet directly in the group stage. The result is critical — Group F's order through R32 is decided across just three matchdays, and head-to-head between equally-ranked teams is the second tiebreaker after points.
The pre-match weight of evidence leans Netherlands's way clearly. Below: a six-dimension head-to-head, the Premier League club distribution per squad, and the Onside verdict.
INTERACTIVE · COMBINED DREAM XI
Build the best XI from BOTH squads
Tap any pitch slot to pick from Netherlands + Sweden. Switch formation any time. Saved on this device.
0 / 11NED 0·SWE 0
Sources: official 26-man squads via football-data.org · Premier League roster fallback when feed lags. Loading saved picks…
HEAD-TO-HEAD · 6 DIMENSIONS
Netherlands vs Sweden — where each one wins
Each row scores the two teams 0–100 on a dimension. Longer bar = stronger. The colour-coded chip on the right names the winner of each axis.
FormHow strong they are on paper (FIFA world ranking)
NED +3194
63
PL footprintHow many Premier League players are in the squad
NED +5077
27
Host edgeWhether they have home advantage as a host nation
LEVEL0
0
Group seedSeed position in their group of four
NED +50100
50
ConfedTheir confederation's historical tournament strength
LEVEL92
92
ExperienceA proxy for tournament heritage (rank + confederation)
NED +1896
78
Netherlands
Sweden
SQUAD CLUBS · PL PERSPECTIVE
Whose PL players are at the World Cup
If you own any of these clubs' assets in FPL, this matchup matters to your pre-season — tournament minutes here become Saturday minutes in August.
SQUAD · PL CLUB BREAKDOWN
Where Netherlands's 17 PL players come from
For FPL managers: if you own any of these clubs' assets, Netherlands's tournament minutes shape your pre-season. Brighton leads with 3 players (18%).
Brighton3 · 18%
Liverpool3 · 18%
Sunderland2 · 12%
Man City2 · 12%
Brentford1 · 6%
Chelsea1 · 6%
Spurs1 · 6%
Arsenal1 · 6%
Bournemouth1 · 6%
West Ham1 · 6%
Aston Villa1 · 6%
SQUAD · PL CLUB BREAKDOWN
Where Sweden's 6 PL players come from
For FPL managers: if you own any of these clubs' assets, Sweden's tournament minutes shape your pre-season. Liverpool leads with 1 player (17%).
Liverpool1 · 17%
Arsenal1 · 17%
Newcastle1 · 17%
Spurs1 · 17%
Brighton1 · 17%
Aston Villa1 · 17%
ONSIDE VERDICT
Edge to Netherlands · clearly
- ·Netherlands sit #7 in the FIFA world ranking — 31 places clear of Sweden.
- ·Netherlands's squad carries 17 Premier League regulars vs Sweden's 6 — sharper match-fitness coming into the tournament.
REFERENCE · AXIS BREAKDOWN
| Axis | Netherlands | Sweden | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Form | 94 | 63 | NED +31 |
| PL footprint | 77 | 27 | NED +50 |
| Host edge | 0 | 0 | level |
| Group seed | 100 | 50 | NED +50 |
| Confed | 92 | 92 | level |
| Experience | 96 | 78 | NED +19 |
OTHER COMPARISONS
HEAD-TO-HEAD · MODEL RATINGS
Netherlands vs Sweden
NETHERLANDS
SWEDEN
FORM SCORE
90
43
ATTACK
87
49
DEFENCE
80
37
EXPERIENCE
77
43
SQUAD-STRENGTH BREAKDOWN
Strength by department
NETHERLANDS
- Attack73
- Midfield68
- Defence63
- GK53
SWEDEN
- Attack42
- Midfield37
- Defence32
- GK22
PREVIOUS WORLD CUP ENCOUNTERS
No previous WC encounters
These two haven't met at a World Cup in our 2002-2022 window. Qualifier + friendly history will be added as football-data feed warms up.
Source: openfootball/worldcup.json (CC0). World Cup 2002 → 2022 inclusive.
KEY PLAYERS · BOTH SIDES
The match-defining names
NETHERLANDS
Top-3 by projected xP/90 — these are the players the model rates as match-defining for Netherlands.
View full Netherlands squad →SWEDEN
Top-3 by projected xP/90 — these are the players the model rates as match-defining for Sweden.
View full Sweden squad →WC MATCHDAY BRIEF · ONE LIST, TWO SEASONS
Get the World Cup brief in your inbox — plus early FPL 2026/27 picks
Match-by-match predictions, captain picks for World Cup Fantasy, likely scorers, and the first FPL 2026/27 differentials to watch. Same engine that powers our Premier League tools, pointed at the world's biggest pre-season.
Weekly digest
Captain picks, transfer tips & differentials — every week.
One email per gameweek. Unsubscribe any time.
SAME ENGINE · POINTED AT FPL
Tracking the World Cup? Use the same engine for FPL 2026/27.
v5 depth-2 GBT stacker · 51k+ OOS predictions · MAE 0.86. Captain picks, MILP squad optimiser, AI Coach, set-piece intel — the production Premier League tools.