Group F · Matchday 2
NetherlandsvsSweden
2026-06-20·12:00 localPredictions finalised
The forecast
Match-outcome probability
- Netherlands win58.9%
- Draw23.6%
- Sweden win17.5%
A 242-point Elo gap frames this as a significant mismatch, yet the model still gives Sweden a 14% probability of a result — enough to make this more than a formality.
Why the model says this
Favoring Netherlands
- ·Netherlands holds a significant Elo advantage, being favoured by 242 Elo points over Sweden.
- ·The model projects Netherlands to generate 1.8 expected goals, notably higher than Sweden's 1.08 expected goals.
- ·Netherlands is globally ranked 7th by FIFA, indicating a higher standing compared to Sweden, whose FIFA rank is not provided.
- ·In 25 previous encounters, Netherlands has secured 12 home wins against Sweden, while Sweden has recorded 8 away wins.
Favoring Sweden
- ·Sweden has shown strong attacking output in their last two matches, scoring 3 goals in each (3-2 W, 3-1 W).
- ·Sweden's "Transition-heavy" style is marked by a 96.2 percentile for directness, suggesting an ability to quickly move the ball forward.
- ·Sweden demonstrates a high reliance on set pieces for goal creation, with 19.3% of their expected goals coming from such situations, placing them in the 88.2 percentile.
What the model can't fully price
- ·There are 2 players across both squads carrying a fitness doubt, with 1 of them projected as a starter. The model does not currently adjust for specific lineup changes due to injuries.
Form check
Netherlands
SteadyNetherlands has been in strong form, recording 4 wins and 2 draws in their last six matches across friendlies and World Cup qualifiers, remaining undefeated. They scored 16 goals in these 6 matches.
Unbeaten in their last six matches (4 wins, 2 draws).
Sweden
ImprovingSweden's form has been mixed, with 2 wins, 1 draw, and 3 losses in their last six matches. However, they have shown recent improvement, winning their last two matches after three consecutive losses.
Won their last two matches, scoring 3 goals in each.
Analysis
How it plays out
Netherlands's high press against Sweden's transition game. Sweden will try to absorb the press and release quick, so the battle is in the first 10 seconds after each turnover. Netherlands's aggressive press (PPDA 20.6) against Sweden's deeper build-up (PPDA 31.2) creates a clear territory question: can Netherlands force errors high up, or will Sweden play through the press and find space behind it?
What decides it
Netherlands press high (PPDA 20.6). If the press doesn't win the ball early, the space behind their back line becomes exposed. Sweden will concede possession willingly and attack in transition. Their defensive block needs to hold without fouling in dangerous areas. Memphis Depay's 13.5% scoring probability is the highest in this fixture. Containing that output is Sweden's primary defensive task.
Off the pitch
No major off-pitch asymmetries. This one is decided by the football.
The angle
Likely the last World Cup for Virgil van Dijk. Tournament experience at this level is hard to quantify but hard to replace.
▸Goals & scorelines
Likeliest score 1–1 (10.9%) · xG 1.9 - 1.0
Expected goals
Mean of the Dixon-Coles joint goal distribution. Same fit that produces the most-likely-scoreline list below.
Most likely scorelines
- 1–110.9%
- 2–110.0%
- 2–09.7%
- 1–09.4%
- 3–16.4%
From the Dixon-Coles joint Poisson with the low-score correction. Scorelines are listed in probability order; this is a description of the model's distribution, not a recommendation.
Most likely half-time scorelines
- 0–023.4%
- 1–021.4%
- 1–112.0%
- 0–110.9%
- 2–010.7%
Same Dixon-Coles fit as the full-time list above, with rates halved to a 45-minute window and the low-score correction applied to that 1st-half block. The 0-0 row sits higher here than at full-time because fewer minutes have elapsed.
Goal totals
- More than 0.5 goals94.2%
- More than 1.5 goals80.1%
- More than 2.5 goals56.8%
- More than 3.5 goals34.4%
- More than 4.5 goals17.8%
- More than 5.5 goals8.0%
- Both teams score55.4%
Each row is the probability the match finishes with more than the listed number of goals. Both-teams-to-score is the probability each side scores at least once. All values are marginals of the Dixon-Coles joint goal grid that produces the scoreline list above — not market lines or any other operator construct.
Event-typed probabilities
- Netherlands clean sheetOpposing team scores zero36.0%
- Sweden clean sheetOpposing team scores zero14.4%
Derived from the same Dixon-Coles joint distribution as the scoreline list. These are descriptive event probabilities — see CLAUDE.md §3/§4 (formerly COMPLIANCE.md §4.2.7) for the framing the project uses.
Win-margin probability
- Netherlands by 4+6.8%
- Netherlands by 3+16.9%
- Netherlands by 2+34.9%
- Netherlands by 1+58.1%
- Draw23.0%
- Sweden by 1+18.8%
- Sweden by 2+6.9%
- Sweden by 3+1.9%
- Sweden by 4+0.4%
Each row is the probability the match ends with the listed margin or larger in that direction. Marginal of the Dixon-Coles joint goal grid; the “by 1+” rows plus the draw row sum to 1.
▸How the match unfolds
Over 2.5 goals 56.8% · BTTS 55.4%
Game state through the match
- Netherlands ahead58.8%
- Level21.8%
- Sweden ahead19.4%
Probability of each game state at minutes 0, 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90 — derived from two independent thinned-Poisson processes with the Dixon-Coles per-team rates. The three lines always sum to 1 at each minute. The right column shows the state at the match's closing minute.
When the first goal arrives
- 0–1539.0%
- 15–3023.8%
- 30–4514.5%
- 45–608.9%
- 60–755.4%
- 75–903.3%
- No goal5.2%
Probability the match's first goal arrives in each 15-minute window. Homogeneous Poisson with combined rate λ = λh + λa from the Dixon-Coles fit; the seven rows (six windows + no-goal tail) sum to 1.
Half-time / full-time grid
| HT ↓ / FT → | HNetherlands win | DDraw | ASweden win |
|---|---|---|---|
| HNetherlands ahead | 39.3% | 4.5% | 1.2% |
| DLevel | 16.8% | 13.1% | 7.0% |
| ASweden ahead | 2.7% | 4.4% | 11.1% |
Each cell is P(half-time result, full-time result). All nine cells sum to 1. Derived from a halved-λ Dixon-Coles fit for the first half plus an independent-Poisson second-half convolution.
Comeback probability
- Netherlands trail at HT, avoid defeat at FT7.1%
- Sweden trail at HT, avoid defeat at FT5.7%
Joint probability — P(side trailing at half-time AND avoiding defeat at full-time). NOT conditional on trailing at HT. Derived from the same half-time / full-time decomposition that produces the HT/FT grid above; a tied first half is neither a home nor an away comeback opportunity.
Cards
- Expected yellow cardsMean of the Poisson on total yellow cards.3.45
- Total yellows over 2.567.0%
- Total yellows over 3.545.3%
- Total yellows over 4.526.5%
- Any red cardP(at least one red card in the match).9.5%
Referee not yet assigned. Using the 2026 pool-mean per-match rate as a placeholder; the model picks up the referee's personal rate once the assignment is published. Total yellow cards modelled as a Poisson with mean equal to two team baselines plus the referee's deviation from the pool mean. Reds are modelled the same way, independently. See /docs/methodology/.
▸Teams & players
Top scorer: Depay (13.5%)
Match detail
Netherlands
Model-rated key players: Memphis Depay (FW) — P(scores) 13.5%; Donyell Malen (FW) — P(scores) 9.8%; Cody Gakpo (FW) — P(scores) 5.3%.
Netherlands under Ronald Koeman play a structured press game with 54% possession. Their likely shape is a other, though they have also used 5-3-2. They apply moderate pressing intensity (PPDA 20.6) and build patiently through midfield with 7.7 passes per attacking sequence.
Netherlands need their high press to force turnovers in dangerous areas — if opponents can play through the press, the space left behind is vulnerable. Physical conditioning and squad rotation will be critical to sustain pressing intensity across a long tournament. Managing minutes for Virgil van Dijk across what could be seven matches will test the coaching staff's rotation planning.
Sweden
Model-rated key players: Emil Forsberg (MF) — P(scores) 4.4%; Viktor Gyökeres (FW) — P(scores) 2.8%; Alexander Isak (FW) — P(scores) 2.4%.
Sweden under Graham Potter play a transition heavy game, with just 36% possession — among the lowest in the field. They sit deeper and pick their moments to press (PPDA 31.2) and move the ball forward quickly at 5.2 passes per attack. They are selective in their shooting (10.0 per 90) and rely heavily on set pieces (19% of their xG).
Sweden rely on defensive discipline and quick transitions — absorbing pressure and converting turnovers into attacking chances. Concentration and defensive organisation for full 90-minute stretches will determine whether the approach holds against top opposition.
Netherlands's predicted XI averages 1,959 club minutes over the 2024-25 season (moderate load).
Netherlands coverage: 67.0% (10/11 XI matched against the FBref Big-5) · Sweden: 54.0% (7/11).
Netherlands historically converts 14.8% of xG from set-pieces, contributing 0.29 expected set-piece goals in this fixture. Sweden converts 19.3% from set-pieces (0.20 expected). Combined, the model expects 0.48 set-piece goals across the 90 minutes.
- P(Netherlands scores set-piece goal) 24.9%
- P(Sweden scores set-piece goal) 17.9%
- P(set-piece goal in match) 38.4%
Netherlands: Donyell Malen on corners (20 corners), Frenkie de Jong on free kicks (per fbref 2022 23) · Sweden: Niclas Eliasson on corners (56 corners) (per fbref 2020 21)
If a penalty is awarded to Netherlands, the model gives 73.3% conversion, 74.3% for Sweden.
Netherlands primary PK: Memphis Depay (4/5 in 2021-22, per fbref 2022 23) · Sweden primary PK: Emil Forsberg (4/4 in 2021-22, per fbref 2020 21).
Derived from the model's per-fixture forecast joint and supporting reference data (predicted squads, set-piece xG share, PK posteriors, club minutes). See /docs/methodology/ for the full methodology.
Tactical forecast
- PPDA
- 20.6
- Possession
- 54%
- Directness (yds/pass)
- 5.3
- Long balls/90
- 31
- Set-piece xG
- 15%
- PPDA
- 31.2
- Possession
- 36%
- Directness (yds/pass)
- 9.2
- Long balls/90
- 41
- Set-piece xG
- 19%
Style profile per side from StatsBomb open-data aggregation across recent international tournaments (Euro 2020/2024, Copa America 2024, AFCON 2023, World Cup 2018/2022). The tactical-fingerprint badge maps each team’s observed style vector into one of eight canonical archetypes via a rule-based classifier; teams with fewer than three matches of qualifying coverage carry an “insufficient-data” label rather than being forced into a default. Sides outside the StatsBomb-open corpus use FotMob team match stats from recent qualifiers and friendlies instead (possession and shot volume only), marked as partial coverage. PPDA = passes the side allows per defensive action (lower = more intense press). Formation distributions are not yet produced — that head of the §2.7 classifier is pending its own data pull. See /docs/methodology/.
Squad depth
Most irreplaceable starters
Netherlands
- Bart VerbruggenGoalkeeperCover: Robin Roefs · 0.570.40gap
- Donyell MalenStrikerCover: Brian Brobbey · 0.560.36gap
- Memphis DepayStrikerCover: Brian Brobbey · 0.560.14gap
Sweden
- Lucas BergvallCentral midfieldCover: Besfort Zeneli · 0.460.37gap
- Alexander IsakStrikerCover: Gustaf Nilsson · 0.620.33gap
- Yasin AyariCentral midfieldCover: Besfort Zeneli · 0.460.23gap
Gap = how far a side's rating at the position falls from the starter to his likely in-squad replacement (named under each name). Larger = harder to replace. Descriptive metric, does not feed the published probabilities. Methodology →
Match conditions
- AltitudeNear sea level13 m
- Avg temperatureFive-year mean over the tournament window28.4 °C
- Avg humidity78%
- Heat stressShade WBGT ~31.8 °CHigh heat stress
- Pitch surfacetemporary natural grass over artificial turf
Indoor artificial-turf stadium laying a temporary natural-grass pitch for the tournament.
Heat stress is a shade Wet-Bulb Globe Temperature proxy from the venue's climatology mean temperature and humidity; FIFA mandates cooling breaks at WBGT 32 °C. Afternoon kickoff (local time). These are long-window averages, not a match-day forecast, and they are not inputs to the forecast.
Top scorers · P(scores in this match)
- Memphis DepayPKFW13.5%
- Donyell MalenFW9.8%
- Cody GakpoFW5.3%
- Emil ForsbergPKMF4.4%
- Viktor GyökeresFW2.8%
- Alexander IsakFW2.4%
Per-player scoring rate from Model #5 (`p_score_per_match`). Reflects each player's npxG/90, expected minutes, team xG share, and the average opposing-team defence. See /docs/methodology/.
Recent match form
Last match player ratings
Netherlands
vs Morocco · avg 5.0
Sweden
vs France · avg 6.0
Player scores from official highlight analysis of each team's most recent match. Observational, not a model input. Methodology →
Video analysis: player performance
Per-player ratings and event breakdowns from official highlights analysis. Tap a player to see their full match timeline.
9Brobbey0'–0'Scored two crucial early goals, demonstrating excellent predatory instincts and clinical finishing.
2goals▼
Scored two crucial early goals, demonstrating excellent predatory instincts and clinical finishing.
Match timeline
9Verbruggen0'–0'Made multiple crucial saves throughout the match, preventing Sweden from scoring more and maintaining the Netherlands' lead.
4saves▼
Made multiple crucial saves throughout the match, preventing Sweden from scoring more and maintaining the Netherlands' lead.
Match timeline
9Gakpo0'–0'Scored two clinical goals, significantly contributing to the Netherlands' dominant scoreline.
2goals▼
Scored two clinical goals, significantly contributing to the Netherlands' dominant scoreline.
Match timeline
8DumfriesDelivered two crucial assists from the right flank, directly contributing to the team's scoring.
Delivered two crucial assists from the right flank, directly contributing to the team's scoring.
7Simons0'–0'Contributed to the dominant victory by scoring a well-placed goal late in the match.
1goals▼
Contributed to the dominant victory by scoring a well-placed goal late in the match.
Match timeline
7Elanga0'–0'Scored Sweden's only goal with a composed finish and showed good individual dribbling ability.
1goals▼
Scored Sweden's only goal with a composed finish and showed good individual dribbling ability.
Match timeline
6Ayari0'–0'Tested the goalkeeper with a strong shot, demonstrating attacking intent from midfield.
1shots1on target▼
Tested the goalkeeper with a strong shot, demonstrating attacking intent from midfield.
Match timeline
5Isak0'–0'Despite multiple attempts and good movement, he was repeatedly denied by the goalkeeper and failed to convert his chances.
2shots2on target▼
Despite multiple attempts and good movement, he was repeatedly denied by the goalkeeper and failed to convert his chances.
Match timeline
Match observations
- The match saw a dominant performance from the Netherlands, who secured a comfortable 5-1 victory over Sweden.
- The Dutch attack was clinical, converting multiple opportunities, particularly from wide areas.
- Sweden created several chances, but were repeatedly thwarted by the Netherlands' goalkeeper.
▸Under the hood
Model-by-model comparison
Netherlands vs Sweden
| Model | Weight | Home | Draw | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EloRating-based strength estimate | 32% | 68.3% | 22.0% | 9.7% |
| Dixon-ColesGoal-process model with low-score correction | 63% | 58.4% | 22.8% | 18.8% |
| Hierarchical PoissonBayesian model with confederation pooling | 6% | 56.8% | 22.8% | 20.4% |
| Bayesian stackingLearned-weight combination | — | 68.9% | 21.1% | 10.0% |
| Ensemble (published)Uniform average + isotonic calibration | — | 64.0% | 21.8% | 14.2% |
How each model works
- Elo
- Each team carries a single strength rating updated after every match by a margin-aware K-factor. Match probabilities come from the logistic function of the rating gap. Elo is fast-adapting but coarse — it sees only who won and by how much, not how the goals were scored.
- Dixon-Coles
- A Poisson regression on team-level attack and defence parameters, fitted via maximum likelihood with an exponential time-decay weighting. The Dixon-Coles correction adjusts the four low-score cells (0-0, 1-0, 0-1, 1-1) where independent Poisson underestimates dependence. Produces full scoreline distributions, not just H/D/A.
- Hierarchical Poisson
- A Bayesian Poisson model fitted via MCMC (PyMC) with hierarchical priors that pool attack and defence parameters within confederations. Shrinks small-sample teams toward their confederation mean — helpful for nations with few recent competitive fixtures. Slower to fit but better-calibrated on the tails.
- Bayesian stacking
- Optimises simplex weights (w_elo, w_dc, w_hp) to maximise the leave-one-out log-score across a walk-forward backtest (Yao et al. 2018). The result is a weighted average of the three component models' probabilities, then isotonic-calibrated. Adds no extra features — just learns which component to trust more from historical accuracy.
- Ensemble (published)
- Equal-weight average of all three component models, followed by per-class isotonic regression calibration fitted on 24 months of walk-forward out-of-fold predictions. This is the probability published on the site. The uniform mean is deliberately simple — it avoids overfitting to the stacking weights' training window.
Three independent component models feed two combination strategies. The uniform ensemble is the published probability; Bayesian stacking uses learned weights. Amber bars flag >5pp divergence from the published number. Full methodology
Probability decomposition (transparency surface)
- Baseline ensemble — P(Netherlands win)58.9%
- + Lineup contribution0.0pp
- + Style-matchup contribution0.0pp
- Published P(Netherlands win)58.9%
Decomposition of the published P(Netherlands win) into the calibrated- baseline plus contributions from the §2.3 expected-XI lineup delta and the §2.7 style-matchup interaction. The §2.7 roadmap is explicit that style effects are second-order to team strength — single-digit-percentage P(win) shifts on extreme style matchups, near-zero on balanced ones. We surface the decomposition for transparency even when the contributions are small; the baseline carries the prediction. Methodology: /docs/methodology.
For this fixture both contributions round to under 0.05pp — the fitted style-matchup pair effect is in the small-magnitude regime the model expects to dominate.
Head-to-head history
| Date | Competition | Venue | Score | Result | xG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 Jun 2026 | FIFA World Cup | NHouston | 5–1 | W | — |
| 10 Oct 2017 | FIFA World Cup qualification | HAmsterdam | 2–0 | W | — |
| 6 Sep 2016 | FIFA World Cup qualification | ASolna | 1–1 | D | — |
| 11 Oct 2011 | UEFA Euro qualification | ASolna | 2–3 | L | — |
| 12 Oct 2010 | UEFA Euro qualification | HAmsterdam | 4–1 | W | — |
| 19 Nov 2008 | Friendly | HAmsterdam | 3–1 | W | — |
Netherlands vs Sweden, every senior international meeting in the martj42 results dataset (score from Netherlands's perspective; H/A/N = home/away/neutral). See all 26 meetings →
Latest news & match context
No recent headlines for Netherlands or Sweden.
- Stage:
- Group F · Matchday 2
- Date:
- 20 Jun
Netherlands
Netherlands come in at close to full strength.
Sweden
Sweden come in at close to full strength.
Netherlands and Sweden both come in at close to full strength, so the forecast rests on baseline team strength rather than late team-news swings.
Availability from the predicted squads and injury feed; forecast adjustments from the model's own decomposition. See /docs/methodology/.
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