Daichi Kamada scored on a header off Koki Ogawa’s nook kick within the 88th minute, sending the Samurai Blue followers right into a frenzy and giving Japan a 2-2 draw with the Netherlands of their World Cup opener on Sunday.
While the Dutch prolonged their unbeaten streak to 16 video games in group play, the orange-clad Oranje supporters had been shocked by the late objective that left them at 21-2-11 in group play on the World Cup.
Virgil Van Dijk and Crysencio Summerville scored off every submit for the Netherlands early within the second half, whereas Keito Nakamura had a objective between these as a part of a three-goal flurry in simply 14 minutes.
Japan followers cheer through the World Cup Group F soccer match between the Netherlands and Japan in Arlington, Texas on Sunday. Image: AP/Jessica Tobias
An uneventful first half modified rapidly after the break for a crowd evenly cut up at AT&T Stadium, the house of the Dallas Cowboys with the retractable roof that supplied reduction from the muggy Texas warmth, and the large video board that followers had a tough time maintaining their eyes off.
Summerville gave the eighth-ranked Dutch the lead within the sixty fourth minute, and Japan was operating out of hope when Ogawa despatched the nook that Kamada timed completely. The ball deflected barely once more on its method towards Bart Verbruggen, who bought his palms on it with a sprawling dive however could not preserve it from getting into.
Van Dijk despatched a header towards the far submit on the appropriate within the fiftieth minute, bending ahead from contained in the penalty space as he stared on the ball earlier than it caromed in for the Dutch captain’s thirteenth worldwide objective.
Nakamura answered seven minutes later for 18th-ranked Japan, turning and rifling a shot previous Verbruggen from the left facet of the arc after taking a go from Takefusa Kubo.
Another seven minutes later, Summerville took a go from Ryan Gravenberch and despatched a left-footed shot to the far left submit previous Zion Suzuki, the place it caromed in once more.
The Dutch’s most up-to-date loss earlier than the elimination spherical got here the final time the World Cup was within the United States in 1994, when a bunch play defeat was adopted by a quarterfinal loss to Brazil on the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.
In Group F, the Netherlands performs Sweden on Saturday in Houston, whereas Japan goes to Monterrey, Mexico, to face Tunisia on Saturday.
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