Can three-time World Cup runner-up the Netherlands finally win soccer's greatest prize?
The Dutch are one of the tournament's great nearly men, having lost back-to-back finals in 1974 and '78 and then again in 2010.
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FILE - Netherlands' Virgil van Dijk passes the ball during the Euro 2020 group C qualifying soccer match between The Netherlands and Northern Ireland at De Kuip stadium in Rotterdam, Netherlands, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2019. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)
Canada's Tani Oluwaseyi, left, shoots as Tunisia's Alaa Ghram (18) and Moutaz Neffati (21) defend during the first half of an international friendly soccer match in Toronto, on Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)
FILE - Sweden's Viktor Gyokeres dribbles during the World Cup qualifying soccer match between Slovenia and Sweden at the Stozice stadium in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic, File)
FILE - Japan's Kaoru Mitoma (7) controls the ball during a friendly soccer match against the United States, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean, File)
FILE - Netherlands' coach Ronald Koeman reacts during a World Cup 2026 group G qualifying soccer match between Netherlands and Lithuania in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)
The Netherlands has been drawn against Sweden, Japan and Tunisia in Group F.
They will be favorites to advance as group winners, but there are potential pitfalls — not least in the form of Japan, which stunned Germany and Spain at the 2022 World Cup.
The creators of so-called “total football” in the 1970s, the Netherlands has always been easy on the eye, but it has never been enough to get it over the line at a World Cup.
Coach Ronald Koeman — in his second spell in charge of the national team — is hoping to end his country's wait.
He won major honors with the Netherlands as a player when lifting the European Championship in 1988 and he was a runner-up in the Nations League in 2019 in his last spell in charge.
The Netherlands can call on Premier League stars like Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch, Tijjani Reijnders and Cody Gakpo, but perhaps lacks some of the top-tier talent of previous generations.
Japan is competing at its eighth straight World Cup and aiming to advance beyond the group stage for the third tournament in a row.
It was first team to qualify for this year's event, other than the three host nations, securing its place with three games to spare.
It produced two of the biggest upset at the last World Cup in Qatar when beating Germany and Spain in the group phase, but it has never progressed beyond the round of 16.
The majority of Japan's national team plays in Europe, including Bayern Munich defender Hiroki Ito and Brighton forward Kaoru Mitoma.
The Swedes advanced via the back door — needing all the help they could get to make the playoffs.
Finishing bottom of its qualifying group after failing to win any games, it was only Sweden's performances in the 2024-2025 Nations League that secured its place in the playoffs.
Under new coach Graham Potter, who was looking to revive his career after being fired by Chelsea and West Ham in recent years, the Swedes overcame Ukraine and Poland in the playoffs to advance.
Sweden's troubles in qualifying were unexpected considering it boasts two of Europe's top strikers in Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyökeres.
Other top players include Lucas Bergvall and Anthony Elanga.
Sweden, a runner-up in 1958, will have fond memories of the United States, having reached the semifinals when the World Cup was last hosted by America in 1994.
Tunisia is aiming to advance from the group phase for the first time in its seventh appearance at the World Cup.
It came close to breaking that streak four years ago in Qatar when finishing third in its group by beating defending champion France 1-0 and drawing with Denmark.
Coach Sabri Lamouchi was hired to replace Sami Trabelsi after Tunisia's disappointing early exit from the African Cup of Nations at the round of 16 stage.
The 21-year-old Khalil Ayari joined Paris Saint-Germain this season and recently made his breakthrough into the national team.
AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
FILE - Netherlands' Virgil van Dijk passes the ball during the Euro 2020 group C qualifying soccer match between The Netherlands and Northern Ireland at De Kuip stadium in Rotterdam, Netherlands, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2019. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)
Canada's Tani Oluwaseyi, left, shoots as Tunisia's Alaa Ghram (18) and Moutaz Neffati (21) defend during the first half of an international friendly soccer match in Toronto, on Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)
FILE - Sweden's Viktor Gyokeres dribbles during the World Cup qualifying soccer match between Slovenia and Sweden at the Stozice stadium in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic, File)
FILE - Japan's Kaoru Mitoma (7) controls the ball during a friendly soccer match against the United States, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean, File)
FILE - Netherlands' coach Ronald Koeman reacts during a World Cup 2026 group G qualifying soccer match between Netherlands and Lithuania in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market is edging back from its all-time high Thursday following mixed profit reports from Tesla and other big companies. Oil prices, meanwhile, are swinging higher on continued uncertainty about what will happen next in the war with Iran.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% following a big rally that erased all its losses because of the war and then carried it to records. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 71 points, or 0.1%, as of 10:15 a.m. Eastern, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.5% lower after setting its own record.
Tesla dragged on the market and fell 4.3% even though it reported better results for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Investors may be focusing instead on Tesla’s increased forecast for spending this year, as it builds factories to make robots and other products.
“You should expect to see a very significant increase in capital expenditures,” Elon Musk told investors late Wednesday, “but I think well justified for a substantially increased future revenue stream.”
ServiceNow dropped even more, 16.2%, even though its results for the latest quarter matched analysts’ expectations. The company has been under pressure, along with much of the broad software industry, because of worries that rivals powered by artificial-intelligence technology could undercut its business.
Analysts said investors may have also been underwhelmed by its forecast for a declaration in growth for an important measure of revenue.
Texas Instruments helped limit Wall Street's losses after breezing past analysts' expectations for profit in the latest quarter. CEO Haviv Ilan said the semiconductor company is benefiting from growth led by industrial and data center customers, and it gave forecasts for profit and revenue in the spring that cleared analysts' estimates.
The 16.6% leap for Texas Instrument's stock was the strongest single force pushing upward on the S&P 500.
In the oil market, prices swung higher as uncertainty continues about what will happen with the Strait of Hormuz. A ceasefire is still in place between the United States and Iran, but oil tankers aren’t able to get through the narrow waterway off Iran's coast to exit the Persian Gulf and reach customers.
The U.S. military on Thursday seized another tanker associated with the smuggling of Iranian oil, ratcheting up the standoff a day after Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guards took control of two vessels in the strait. President Donald Trump also said Thursday he ordered the U.S. military to “shoot and kill” small Iranian boats that deploy mines to gum up traffic in the strait.
The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, rose 1% to $102.97 after bouncing between roughly $101 and $106 overnight. It’s unclear whether U.S.-Iran peace talks, previously hosted by Pakistan, would resume anytime soon.
More expensive oil has hurt airlines in particular because of the industry's already big fuel bills, and stocks diverged in the industry following the latest profit reports.
American Airlines Group rose 4% after reporting better profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Even though winter storms hurt its revenue during the first three months of the year, American said demand was strong for flights, and it saw the nine best weeks for revenue intake in its 100-year history.
Southwest Airlines, though, lost 2.2% after reporting weaker quarterly results than analysts expected. It said it would not give an updated forecast for profit this year because of “the ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty.”
Also on the losing end of Wall Street was IBM, which sank 9.7% despite reporting better profit and revenue for the latest quarter than expected. Analysts said investors were focusing on some potentially discouraging numbers underneath the surface, including decelerating growth in trends for its software business.
In stock markets abroad, indexes fell across much of Europe and Asia. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.9%, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 sank 0.7% for two of the bigger losses.
South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.9% after the government reported better-than-expected economic growth for the start of the year, boosted by strong exports, particularly of computer chips used in the AI boom. Semiconductor supplier SK Hynix said its revenue for the latest quarter jumped more than analysts expected largely because of AI-related demand.
In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury edged down to 4.29% from 4.30% late Wednesday.
A report in the morning said slightly more U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week, but the number is still at a historically healthy level. A separate, preliminary report on U.S. business output from S&P Global also suggested growth is improving a bit from its near-stagnation seen in March.
AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Matt Ott contributed to this report.
Trader Edward Curran works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
The sun rises behind tankers anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Qeshm Island, Iran, Saturday, April 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Asghar Besharati)
A board above trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange displays the closing number for the Dow Jones industrial average, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
A person takes a photo of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index outside a securities firm Thursday, April 23, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Thursday, April 23, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A person stands in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Thursday, April 23, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A person looks at an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Thursday, April 23, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
