Daichi Kamada’s deflected goal in the 88th minute was the second tying tally of the second half for Japan, who scraped out a 2-2 draw with the Netherlands in the World Cup opener for both teams Sunday afternoon in Arlington, Texas.
Off a corner kick delivered from Junya Ito, Koki Ogawa elevated in the middle of the box, heading a ball which ricocheted off Kamada’s head past Dutch goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen to level the match between the two highest-ranked teams in Group F.
The Netherlands, No. 8 in the FIFA/Coca Cola world rankings, had won four straight World Cup openers. Japan, ranked 18th, had won their last two World Cup openers.
The equalizer came after a scoreless first half was followed by three goals in a 13-minute span in the second half.
Captain Virgil van Dijk gave the Netherlands a 1-0 lead in the 51st minute when his header found the back of the net with a ricochet off the right post. It was van Dijk’s 13th international goal, but his first at the World Cup.
That lead lasted just six minutes, though, as Japan found the equalizer in the 57th minute on Keito Nakamura’s right-footed blast from just outside the 18-yard box that caught Verbruggen off guard and nestled into the lower-left corner of the net for his 11th goal for Japan.
The Netherlands restored their lead seven minutes after that, however. Crysencio Summerville, who was assessed a yellow card three minutes prior, received a pass from Ryan Gravenberch — who assisted on both Dutch goals — and launched a shot off the left post and in from the edge of the box.
It appeared the tying goal wasn’t coming for Japan after a few close calls came up empty. Most notably, Takefusa Kubo came inches away from leveling the match with a shot from distance which sailed just over the net in the 67th minute.
Japanese goalkeeper Zion Suzuki made four saves in his World Cup debut. Verbruggen made one save for the Netherlands after he was questionable leading up to the match due to a hip injury sustained in a warm-up friendly.
The Netherlands were the more dangerous side in the first half, holding 69% of the possession, a 5-3 advantage in shots and all three shots on goal.
Donyell Malen provided all three of the first-half shots on target, nearly scoring in the third minute, the 34th minute and the third minute of stoppage time but denied by Suzuki saves.
–Field Level Media
