Netherlands are finalising their preparations for their highly anticipated opening Group F match against a formidable Japan side on June 14. Following their initial training session under the intense American sun, Koeman admitted at a press conference that the upcoming encounter will be both "interesting and difficult".
Since taking charge in early 2023, the manager has guided the side to a fourth-place finish in the 2023 Nations League and the Euro 2024 semi-finals, where they lost to England. However, their recent results have been somewhat underwhelming. Last week, Oranje departed their homeland off the back of a 1-0 defeat to Algeria before two Cody Gakpo penalties, including one in the last minute, sealed a narrow victory against Uzbekistan in their final pre-World Cup warm-up game.