Dallas, June 15 (IANS) Japan scored an 88th-minute equaliser as they twice fought back to rescue a 2-2 draw with the Netherlands in front of 69,285 fans in Texas to open their FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign.
The Netherlands had looked set to become the early Group F frontrunners after Crysencio Summerville’s 64th-minute goal. However, as they had done during the 14-minute goal burst earlier in the second half, Japan showed their mettle to secure a point.
Notably, this was the first time the Netherlands had fielded no home-based players in their starting XI for a World Cup match.
The Netherlands made a confident start and nearly took the lead after three minutes, allowing Donyell Malen to swivel inside the box and forcing a smart save from Zion Suzuki. The stoppage seemed to help Ronald Koeman’s side and Roma forward Malen again worked Suzuki with a header from a corner, then Cody Gakpo fired wildly over the bar, AFC reports,
The first real chance for Hajime Moriyasu’s team came a few minutes before the break when a cross evaded the backtracking Summerville but Nakamura pulled his low effort wide. The Dutch had looked most threatening in the air, so it was no surprise when Liverpool talisman Van Dijk rose to plant a well-placed header into the bottom corner after a pinpoint cross from club team-mate Ryan Gravenberch on 51 minutes.
The lead lasted just six minutes, Nakamura wriggling free and firing low past goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen, the ball taking a small deflection off Jan Paul van Hecke. In a madcap period of play, the Dutch forged ahead once more on 64 minutes when West Ham’s Summerville beat his man on the right wing and curled into Suzuki’s bottom-right corner with his left foot.
Both teams rang the changes and had chances to score again, before Kamada’s chaotic leveller from a corner.
After the draw, Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu said, “I’m disappointed that we failed to win, but even though we fell behind twice, the players never gave up and fought hard together as a team. While earning only a point is a little disappointing, we managed to get a result through our collective effort. We defended patiently and then tried to be more aggressive going forward. The players executed what we had planned and prepared for.”