Japan rescue draw against the Netherlands at World Cup 2026

The Netherlands and Japan played out a draw in the opening round of the World Cup 2026 group stage. The match in Dallas ended 2-2.

The first half passed without goals, but the game came to life after the break. All four goals were scored in the second half.

The Netherlands took the lead twice. Virgil van Dijk opened the scoring, before Crysencio Summerville later restored the European side’s advantage. However, Japan found an answer on both occasions.

First, Japan equalized through Nakamura. Then, in the 88th minute, the team avoided defeat once again: after a corner from the right, Koki Ogawa challenged inside the penalty area, and Daichi Kamada’s deflected effort found its way past Bart Verbruggen.

As a result, Japan earned one point in their opening match in Group F, while the Netherlands let victory slip away late in the game.

Notably, this is already the fourth match at World Cup 2026 in which European teams have failed to beat representatives of Asia:

South Korea — Czechia — 2-1
Australia — Türkiye — 2-0
Qatar — Switzerland — 1-1
Japan — Netherlands — 2-2

World Cup 2026 continues to deliver surprising results right from the start of the group stage.