Japan's FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign got under way at a tension-filled Dallas Stadium against the Netherlands, a team boasting three runner-up finishes, with the teams playing to a fierce 2-2 draw.
Despite falling behind twice during the second half after a scoreless first 45 minutes, Japan were undeterred and refused to take things lying down, as they continued to push forward until the end.
They were duly rewarded in the dying minutes as Koki Ogawa's header from a right-sided corner took a deflection off Daichi Kamada and found the net to earn a share of the spoils. Japan had claimed a valuable point against one of Europe's heavyweights.
Coach Hajime Moriyasu was full of praise afterwards, hailing the tough mentality of his team.
"They never gave up and battled together as a team, even after falling behind twice,” said Moriyasu. “Whether we're winning, losing or drawing, we don't change what we came to do. We'd spoken about it before the game, so we stayed calm and stuck to our plan. On another day, we could easily have been 2 or 3-nil down. The fact that we stayed in the fight and managed to earn a draw says a lot about the character of this side. It's an important trait for a team aiming to win the tournament to have.”
With the two rallies, Japan have laid down a promising marker for the challenges that lie ahead. Defender Yukinari Sugawara, spoke with FIFA following Sunday’s thriller and said he is already looking forward to the next match, while highlighting what Japan must improve.
"First and foremost, we need to stop conceding goals, but we also need to be more creative in attack,” said Sugawara.
If Japan can build on the resilience they showed here, there may be much more to come.
Source: FIFA
