Germany, Netherlands Eye 2026 World Cup; Sweden & Ecuador Also in Action

We're into day four of the World Cup and boy are we motoring through the games now. Already we find ourselves looking ahead to Group F fixtures later today, including arguably the competition's most intriguing side, Sweden. Are they really as bad as every result other than those they got in March would suggest? Their game against Tunisia might tell us.

What about Japan, can these supposed dark horses possibly live up to the hype that has followed them when they take on the Netherlands? Indeed this is looking like quite the day for the ones to watch, there is plenty of reason to get buzzy about both Ivory Coast and Ecuador, who face off four hours after Germany's meeting with Curacao. That is a game that could, but probably won't, deliver the greatest upset in World Cup history, the four-time champions against a side representing just over 150,000 people. Let's get into it.

Are the Dutch and/or the Germans contenders?

A quick glance at most bookmakers' odds or prediction models before the tournament had an inner circle of six teams that looked like realistic World Cup winners. France, Spain, England, Portugal, Argentina and Brazil: those look like the plausible winners of this competition. On the outside looking in, the Netherlands and Germany. Both have the sort of illustrious history that means no one would be describing them as a Cinderella tale if they were to be lifting the trophy at MetLife Stadium next month. No one, however, looks at them and thinks contender.

For the Dutch, the issue looks pretty straightforward. Their talent in defense rivals anyone, Virgil van Dijk and Micky van de Ven among a host of Premier League proven talent. Midfield is not too shabby either with Ryan Gravenberch and Frenkie de Jong able to offer a fantastic base for their build-up. The issue is really what it is building towards. The attack is at best ok, carried for too long by an ageing Memphis Depay and with Crysencio Summerville and Brian Brobbey perhaps insufficiently blooded for what comes ahead.

Germany's issue might also be who puts the ball in the goal. Kai Havertz, likely to lead the line, brings the best out of those around him but would probably benefit from a few more ruthless finishers. It seems ludicrous to bemoan the presence of Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala, but are there, perhaps, too many players who come to the ball, not enough who fly away to it? The aggressive restructuring of their youth development around technique in the early 2000s brought huge success to Germany, most notably at the 2014 World Cup, but look at the roster now and it verges towards one note.

In the weeks ahead, you might be able to construct an intriguing argument for either of those teams going all the way. Donyell Malen caught fire at Roma in the second half of the season. Keep that up in North America, and the Dutch can get the goals they need. Germany will dominate possession in circumstances where that is very helpful. They will probably have at least one excellent display against high-level opposition. Keep that up and maybe they barge their way into this tournament's pantheon. We're just going to need to see it happen first.

Can Gyokeres and Isak co-exist?

Having got to the World Cup via the back door of their Nations League, Sweden did not really kick on as they readied themselves to go west. A 2-2 draw with Greece hardly set the world alight while before that Norway brushed past their neighbors in Oslo without even needing to start Erling Haaland or Martin Odegaard. Now it should be noted that Graham Potter has his own Premier League superstars in attack who did not start that friendly (one of them had only just arrived from the Champions League final) but the Swedes need to do a lot more work to bed in Viktor Gyokeres and Alexander Isak.

Against Greece those two functioned as a pair of number nines in a 3-5-2, Isak dropping somewhat off Gyokeres, whose greatest strength is his stretching runs in behind. That is certainly an easy fit for the latter while Isak at his best is a relatively high touch center forward, albeit not a natural false nine. The Premier League's most expensive signing might want to drop off the defense in build up but that is always with a view to then spinning to meet the pass in behind. How does that work if Gyokeres is already making those sorts of runs?

The evidence of the last year is not all that successfully. When Isak and Gyokeres start the record of  Blågult  this season was one draw and two losses in qualifying, at home to Switzerland and Kosovo. Though it was better the previous year it would be quite disastrous if any Swedish team was not picking up wins against Azerbaijan and Estonia, no matter the fit of their big money strikers. It was without Isak that this side achieved World Cup qualification and Gyokeres' consistent brilliance in yellow makes him undroppable for this tournament. How can the same not be true of Liverpool man Isak? Sweden might have hit a rich seam of talent lately but not one that runs so deep you can do without a striker with 57 career Premier League goals.

Looking at that team Potter named against Greece, which seems a decent approximation of both the system and personnel he might use against Tunisia, and the headaches don't stop with that front two. Mattias Svanberg can be very good without possession and Yasin Ayari has got good minutes with Brighton in the last two years. Neither of them offers much ball progression or creativity. Benjamin Nygren does for Celtic but can he carry the burden at a much higher level? This profiles like a team crying out for Dejan Kulusevski, injured for over a year after a devastating blow to his knee. There is a player who could get the ball up the field, who would offer an option to team mates between the lines and play that killer final pass.

In his absence, much of that burden might fall on Isak, who struggled with the weight of expectations in an injury-addled season with Liverpool. It is not getting easier from here on out. If he and Gyokeres can't click, this threatens to be a gruelling World Cup for Sweden.

Defensive titans Ecuador

Second in qualifying was impressive enough for Ecuador, but it is when you look at one particular column that you start to get intrigued by El Tri. Five goals conceded in 18 qualifiers, 13 clean sheets; these are sensational numbers. Indeed, in CONMEBOL's current round robin format, first used in 1998, no team has ever let in fewer. To make that defensive record sparkle even more, three of that quintet were conceded in the opening three rounds of qualifying.

From October 13 onwards, across 15 matches, the only players to breach the Ecuador defense were Rodrygo of Real Madrid and Jhonder Cadiz, currently at Wuhan Three Towns, for a last-minute consolation in a game Venezuela were already on course to lose. Now Sebastian Beccacece's side were hardly lighting up the scoring charts either, but when you get to knockout tournament football, it is quite frequently the case that one goal is all you need.

For their opponents, best of luck getting it. Piero Hincapie of Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain's Willian Pacho both excelled in the Champions League final. It may not be long before Joel Ordonez, currently of Club Brugge, is gracing such prestigious occasions. That is three defenders of great composure, strength and versatility, the sort who Beccacece can easily configure into a back three or the bulk of a four as the game requires. Shield them with Moises Caicedo, perhaps the Premier League's best pure ball-winning midfielder, and you have a pretty compelling case that that qualifying record is no fluke.

The challenge at the World Cup is going to be getting the goals they need at the other end. At 36 years of age, Enner Valencia is one of the less illustrious names on our "you're still going?" list, right behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modric. His 49 goals are two more, however, than the rest of the squad combined. Ecuador might be unbeaten in 19, but only eight of them were wins. Three draws would probably get you to the last 32, but a win might be handy. Then, once you're down to single-game shootouts, the indefatigability of your defense can really show.

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_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/news/germany-netherlands-2026-world-cup-sweden-ecuador/)._