Japan’s Daichi Kamada’s late header forces a World Cup draw against the Netherlands
ARLINGTON, Texas – Daichi Kamada and his Japanese teammates were minutes away from losing a World Cup opener that was unexpected given the opposition.
His tying goal will be remembered for a long time in his country, especially if the football powerhouse reaches the round of 16 again.
Kamada headed home Koki Ogawa’s corner in the 88th minute, sending shockwaves through the Samurai Blue fans and giving Japan a 2-2 draw with the highly-placed Netherlands on Sunday.
While the Dutch extended their unbeaten streak to 17 games in the group stage, Oranje fans in orange were stunned by the goal that left them 21-2-11 in the World Cup group stage.
“Our players were able to be determined but at the same time be patient and calm and find and take advantage of the opportunity,” said Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu speaking to an interpreter. His team reached the round of 16 for the fourth time in 2022 in Qatar.
Virgil Van Dijk and Crysencio Summerville each scored for the Netherlands early in the second half, with Keito Nakamura scoring between them as part of a three-goal haul in just 14 minutes.
A mostly uneventful first half changed quickly after halftime for an evenly divided crowd at AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys with a retractable roof that provides relief from the muggy Texas heat, and a giant video board that fans struggle to block.
Summerville gave the eighth-placed Dutch the lead in the 64th minute, and Japan were desperate when Ogawa headed in Kamada’s corner. The ball again deflected slightly in the direction of Bart Verbruggen, who got his hands on it with a wild dive but was unable to keep it out.
Van Dijk headed the ball towards the far right post in the 50th minute, bending just inside the penalty area as he stared at the ball before it went wide for the Dutch captain’s 13th international goal.
Nakamura responded seven minutes later for Japan in the 18th, turning and firing past Verbruggen on the left side of the arc after a pass from Takefusa Kubo.
Seven minutes later, Summerville took a pass from Ryan Gravenberch and sent a shot to the left of the goal past Zion Suzuki, where it rebounded.
“It’s disappointing now because obviously conceding a goal is never good,” said Van Dijk, the Dutch’s second World Cup goalscorer at the age of 34, 341 days, following Giovanni van Bronckhorst at the age of 35 and 151 against Uruguay in 2010.
The Dutch’s last defeat before the elimination round occurred the last time the World Cup was held in the United States in 1994, when the team’s loss was followed by a loss to Brazil in the quarterfinals of the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.
The pressure is always on the Netherlands to reach the qualifying stage, as they are the only country to have reached the final three times without winning the World Cup.
The draw for the opening games of Group F, which includes Sweden and Tunisia, will not ease that pressure on coach Ronald Koeman, who has faced many questions about tactics and responded with ambiguous answers.
The Dutch beat Japan in their only other World Cup meeting in 2010.
“I’m disappointed that we didn’t win, but that’s because we were in the lead twice,” said Koeman through an interpreter. “Many people underestimated Japan, but for the 100,000th time, if you underestimate them, that’s your problem. Do you think Japan’s strength was exaggerated before the game?
The Netherlands will play Sweden on Saturday in Houston, while Japan travels to Monterrey, Mexico, to face Tunisia on Saturday.
