Netherlands v Japan Betting Markets
At the time of writing, Japan have landed five consecutive wins and some of them have been against notable opposition. Back in October, there was a comeback victory to beat Brazil 3-2 and they then secured bloodless wins against Ghana and Bolivia. More recently, they have been to England and Scotland to land 1-0 victories which means it's now four consecutive games without conceding a goal.
In the 2022 World Cup, the Blue Samurai surprised everyone by beating Germany in their opening clash and proved it was no fluke by finishing top of the section. Despite losing 1-0 against Costa Rica in their second game, they then beat Spain 2-1 before losing to Croatia on penalty kicks after taking the lead against their European opponents in normal time.
It's certainly hard to oppose this well-drilled team who don't necessarily boast superstars within their ranks but certainly have the potential to go a long way. Manager Hajime Moriyasu has been in charge of the national team since 2018 and the 57-year-old ensures that there's continuity for players who have a wealth of experience.
Netherlands will also have big ambitions to be star performers at this World Cup. They were able to win six and draw two of their eight games in qualifying to finish ahead of Poland. The team scored twenty-seven goals and conceded on just four occasions. Ronald Koeman will have hopes for his team to challenge hard at the business end and they managed to reach the quarter finals of the previous World Cup.
However, the Dutch didn't qualify in 2018 and some might not want to back them to win this opener. The team have a wealth of experience and managed to top Group A at the 2022 World Cup where a tight defensive ship saw them concede just once. The presence of Virgil van Dijk at the back means that few chances are likely to be created against them.
Goals Under/Over
We know that Netherlands have the potential to be power-scorers in the tournament. Memphis Depay and Cody Gakpo have both shown up in previous World Cups, with the former now plying his trade for Corinthians, while the latter has been leading the attack for Liverpool over the past few months.
Many of the recent games involving Koeman's side have seen the goal tally go over two, with that including a 2-1 success against Norway. There was previously a 4-0 win over Lithuania and they enjoyed the same scoreline against Finland. However, there are more modest opponents than a Japan side who are strong defensively.
We're leaning towards a low-scoring clash considering that it's the opening clash of a tournament and both of these sides will be confident of going through by achieving success in their other games.
BTTS
The BTTS Yes odds are slightly shorter than BTTS No for this showdown in Texas. The March friendlies involving Netherlands saw them play out two clashes where both teams found the net. Ronald Koeman favours an attacking approach to the game although the Dutch will be facing a Japanese side who run a tight defensive ship.
Yutu Nagatomo and Maya Yoshida are vastly experienced defenders who can perform a role in Arlington, with Ajax pair Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kō Itakura also lining up and capable of achieving clean sheets for their country. There might be a struggle to find the net against Netherlands although Feyenoord's Ayase Ueda has been capable of striking gold for his country.
Perhaps this will be one of the more entertaining clashes considering that the Blue Samurai played out a 3-2 success against Brazil and achieved a high XG ratio on that occasion. It's been six games and counting since the Asian side failed to find the net and they appear to be coming into some strong form in their bid to enjoy a winning start to the tournament.
First Goalscorer
The interesting thing is that a lot of Japan's players actually operate for Dutch Eredivisie clubs. This includes Feyenoord forward Ayase Ueda who has scored sixteen goals in thirty-eight appearances for his country. There's also Kogi Ogawa who is an NEC player and he has notched ten goals when stepping out fourteen times in the blue shirt.
Genk's Junya Ito has scored a respectable fifteen goals in sixty-eight appearances and there are lots of other players in the midfield department with the potential to deliver. Ritsu Doan is a quality operator who turns out for Eintracht Frankfurt and there's Crystal Palace's Daichi Kamada.
Memphis Depay has had a fascinating career, with the Corinthians man having clocked up 55 goals across 108 appearances for his country. However, perhaps it will be Cody Gakpo who is most likely to find the net. The Liverpool forward is sure to get plenty of game time, with Denzel Dumfries and Virgil van Dijk worth considering at bigger prices to feature on the scoresheet in this encounter.
Tijjani Reijnders hasn't made the desired impact at Manchester City in the past twelve months but has chipped in with seven goals across thirty international appearances, with Xavi Simons also one worth watching.