Japan Rises High, Spoils Van Dijk’s Big Day with 2-2 Draw vs. Dutch
- Staff Writer
- 19 hours ago
- 2 min read
Credit Sky Sports
NATIONAL SOCCER NEWS: www.nationalsoccernetwork.com
By: Ahmed Smith
Netherlands and Japan open up the World Cup for 2026 and it happened to be a thriller, with Japan clawing back twice for a surprise 2-2 draw in Group F action.
Netherlands started in 4 - 1 - 2 - 3 and Japan played in a 3 - 4 - 3. Although we didn’t have any goals scored in the first half of the game, the speed and level stayed high. Mass sections of orange supporting the Netherlands in Dallas Stadium with a noticeable royal blue contrast among the crowd of 69,000 in attendance.
It was a game to remember as Japan and Netherlands battled for 49 minutes, with Netherlands controlling most of the possession while Japan looked for any small opening for a lightning quick counter attack. Special players for the Netherlands like Malen and Summerlin were not able to break through the great tight and compact wall of all 10 players defending well.
It was the 50th minute mark that Virgil Van Dijk of the Netherlands would break the ice with the first goal of the game. It was a header that came from a well placed crossing pass to Virgil that would knock off the post and bounce into the back of the net.
From then, the Netherlands thought they could relax a little, but not for long after that Keito Nakamura would find a critical chance at the top of the box just under the foot of the last Netherlands defender to tie up the game.
Summerlin of the Netherlands would show his special abilities as an outside force and goal scorer, taking the game to a 2-1 lead from a left footed shot 15 to 20 minutes later.
But, the nail in the coffin would come from Japan in this match. Most of the commentary during the game would criticize the Japanese for attempting long crosses in the air to try to beat the over 6 ft tall Netherlands defending back line, until Daichi Kamada would do the impossible. After a cross into the box caught Netherlands defenders off guard, Ramada would head a ball right into the back of the next at 89th mixture of the game.
Japan and the Netherlands truly had a battle and Group F will prove to be a tough group to survive in after this first match of action between two quality teams. Until next time for Group F, see you soon, soccer fans!
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