The 2026 FIFA World Cup is nearly here – but before then, the participating countries are fine-tuning their preparations with some last-minute friendlies.

There could be some significant takeaways for Fantasy managers from these friendlies – and we’ll be producing some brief Scout Notes from each of these kickabouts.

We continue with four more friendlies contested on Wednesday 3 June or the early hours of Thursday 4 June.

You can get the Opta data from three of the four matches (Opta didn’t cover Panama v Dominican Republic) via the links below:

• READ MORE: Fantasy FIFA World Cup 2026 ultimate guide: Best players, tips, team reveals + more

THE NETHERLANDS 0-1 ALGERIA

• Goal: Moussa
• Assist: Bentaleb

• The Netherlands largely dominated the game, with more possession, more big chances (3 v 0) and more shots (17 v 8), so they created enough to win the game.
• Die Oranje played a 4-3-3 (more on their system soon), something they’ve played very often lately.
• Verbruggen started in goal, with van der Ven at left-back, van Dijk and van Hecke at centre-half, and Wieffer at right-back. Dumfries, the usual right-back, was suspended.
• It was a midfield of Gravenberch, De Jong and Reijnders, which has received a lot of negativity from fans.
• Summerville played 45 minutes at right wing, with Gakpo lasting 81 minutes on the opposite flank. Malen started as strike but Depay, who has struggled with fitness, came off the bench to get 45 minutes.
• Reijnders made five key passes (including one big chance created) and also had two attempts on goal. Gakpo was also very lively, with 4 attempts on goal (two shots on target, one big chance missed) and two key passes. Malen had four shots, one of which hit the woodwork, and he also missed two big chances; more like the Malen of yore than the one who’s had an excellent season at Roma!
• Depay managed two shots after his introduction, with one on target.

“After what was a solid first half that arguably deserved a small lead for the Dutch, the five subs made during half-time killed all momentum. What remained was a sloppy second half and a moment of brilliance from Hadj-Moussa decided the match in Algeria’s favour.

“Subbing off Summerville, who made his debut and impressed in the first 45 minutes, was one of the key reasons for the poor second half. The debutant was very threatening, created quite some chances and could have had 2-3 assists. He showed signs of being an excellent partner for Dumfries by occupying spaces centrally, leaving room for the right-back to make runs. He was arguably the Netherlands’ best player in this match and a serious option for the vacant right-wing spot. Koeman was content with his debut, noting his creativity and a few untidy moments here and there, but emphasising that it was a good performance for a debutant and that the only way is up.

“Malen started as a striker over Memphis. He showed his pace at times and accumulated a decent amount of chances but failed to convert any of them. He was unfortunate in his finishing. Memphis came on at half-time for Summerville, which shifted Malen to the right. His 45 minutes on the pitch showed that he’s clearly still lacking fitness and rhythm, failing to make a mark on the second half. Rather than answering any doubts, the performances of Malen and Memphis seem to have raised more questions. The debate on which one should start at striker will keep going on. Malen’s fitness and form probably has him ahead of Memphis for now; the latter needs to become fitter to become a real option.

“Kluivert had probably the best performance out of all the subs, adding depth and pace to the midfield. His lack of minutes for Bournemouth after coming back from his injury wasn’t noticeable. He made a good impression and showed why he’s still an option to start in midfield in certain tactical scenarios.” – @MeijersDavid

• Algeria were mostly dominated but that was not a surprise. The expectation was that they’d allow The Netherlands to dominate and hit on the counter, and that worked. They did concede a lot of shots, however.
• It was also a 4-3-3 from them. They seem to be changing formation a lot, veering from a back five to a 4-2-3-1 and everything in between. Lots of chopping and changing.
• Zidane started in goal as expected. It was a bit of a makeshift defence, though. Ait Nouri played at left-back and Mandi at centre-back as expected but usual right-back Belghali only featured off the bench and centre-half Bensebaini didn’t get any game-time, at all. There is perhaps some mitigation for the number of chances they conceded, then.
• The central midfield of Aouar, Bentaleb and Zerrouki was good, while Amoura started left-wing, Mahrez right-wing and Gouiri up front as expected. Attacking midfielder Maza didn’t start, probably due to the system, but he featured from the bench.
• Zidane was no doubt their best player between the sticks, in no small part thanks to the wobbly defence.
• Aouar couldn’t do much, but Amoura managed three attempts on goal. Mahrez didn’t do much at all, while Gouiri was worse up top.
• It was close to a first-team attack, but the change of system and missing personnel could have affected them. Whilst they won the game, the data is a bit worrying.

SOUTH KOREA 1-0 El Salvador

• Goal: D.G.Lee

• It was another very dominant game from South Korea, although this time the margin of victory was a lot smaller (1-0 v the 5-0 of May 31). But it was another win and another clean sheet.
• They ended the game with 72% possession, and had 15 shots on goal v El Salvador’s three. They probably should have scored more.
• Korea played a back five once again, which we should expect in the World Cup.
• Seung-gyu started in goal, unlike the friendly before. Hyeon-woo didn’t feature at all in the second half either, so the two goalkepeers are at a start each in these pre-tournament friendlies.
• They changed up the defence a bit from the previous match, as well. This time, Seol Young-woo (right wing-back), who should start in Round 1, started. Kim Min-jae (centre-half) also started, having sat out the last friendly. H. Lee and G. Lee have started both friendlies now at centre-back. Castrop didn’t start at left wing-back, but did come on in the second half.
• They also changed up their central midfield from the Trinidad and Tobago game. In-beom and J. Lee started; In-beom should be a regular for them in the engine room.
• Most of the attack was changed up from the get-go. D.G. Lee has started both recent friendlies, both on the right wing. He’s returned in both games, as well. Hee-chan got over an hour while, significantly, Kang In-lee got some important minutes off the bench; he wasn’t in the squad for the last match due to being involved in the Champions League final with PSG. Son featured off the bench for under 30 minutes; they’ll want to look after him.
• In-beom had two shots on target and also took corners in the game. Wing-back Young-woo managed one key pass and one shot. D.G.Lee was good again, scored, had three shots and made three key passes, maybe playing his way into the starting line-up. Hee-chan wasn’t great. Son only played 27 minutes and still racked up three attempts on goal and one key pass; better stats than most of the others!
• Son is clearly still the main man, but they have a lot of players who could cause damage.

Denmark 0-0 DR CONGO

• It’s worth mentioning before anything else that Denmark played a very strong starting XI in this one.
• This was far from a classic, as the 0-0 scorelined suggests. There was only one big chance apiece, while Denmark had more shots than DR Congo (12 v 8). The Danes dominated in terms of possession, as well.
• It looks like DR Congo experimented with a back five. They played with a back four for their recent AFCON campaign.
• First-team goalkeeper Mpasi played the full game. Masuaku and Kalulu were the two wing-backs, although Wan Bissaka will likely replace the latter. The West Ham defender he played a couple of minutes off the bench towards the end of the game in that same position. Regular Mbemba played centre-back, along with Tuanzebe, who you’d also expect. Kapuadi played in the other centre-half role, although you’d expect him to lose his place if they change system again.
• Moutoussamy and Mukau weren’t shocks in midfied. They were joined by Kayembe, but he was eventually replaced by Sadiki.
• The two main men started up front, Wissa and Bakambu.
• So, this was obviously a very strong side from DR Congo, bar a couple of positions and the change of system. Mbemba was brilliant in defence as usual, with Tuanzebe also good.
• Bakambu managed just one shot on target but Wissa was good, with one attempt and three key passes. He played most of the game, which is no surprise due to his lack of recent game time.
• If they go with the back five against Chile in the next one, it’s clear they’re setting up this way against Portugal in the first round. It would be interesting if they keep back-to-back clean sheets with that system heading into it.

PANAMA 4-2 Dominican Republic

• Goals: Rodriguez, Griffith, Waterman, Barria
• Assists: Andrade, Davis

• A bounce back was needed for Panama after getting absolutely thrashed by Brazil. They actually did well against Brazil offensively but defensively were poor. This is looking like a pattern, when considering this latest match as well: capable of scoring goals but just as likely to concede them.
• There was a major lack of team and player data available for this one but the scoreline represents another hectic performance from Panama.
• It was a back five again from Panama, with none of the same defence that started against Brazil. So lots of key players missing from this starting XI.
• There was a different central midfield and attack to the Brazil game, too.
• Key players Blackman (right wing-back), Waterman (forward), Escobar (centre-half), Davis (left wing-back), Andrade (centre-back) and several others all came on in the second half and made an instant impact.