Japan v Sweden (Kick-off 12.00am). Coverage of the Group F match at Dallas Stadium in the USA. At their seven previous appearances at the finals Japan have progressed to the knockout stage four times, including at the two previous tournaments in 2018 and 2022. While they finished strongly four years ago with a 2-1 win over Spain that saw them top the table, a 1-0 loss to Poland in Volgograd eight years ago meant they had to rely on Senegal also losing in their clash against Colombia and also becoming the first nation to benefit from the fair play rule to break a tied record with the unfortunate Africans. In another memorable first, Japan became the first Asian country to compete at an international tournament when they appeared in the football competition at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, and on that occasion, they claimed a 3-2 victory over Sweden, which was seen as a massive shock at the time