FIFA World Cup 2026 | Group F | Sunday, 14 June 2026 Dallas Stadium, Dallas, Texas | Referee: TBC
Junya Ito swung in a corner in the 88th minute. Koki Ogawa rose highest. His header came down toward goal. It hit Daichi Kamada. Kamada did not know much about it. The ball flew into the top right corner. Bart Verbruggen got his hand to it and could only parry it into his own net.
Netherlands 2-2 Japan. 89th minute. Dallas lost its mind.
That goal — that moment — summed up the whole evening. A first half that gave you almost nothing. A second half that gave you everything. Four goals in 39 minutes and a finish so chaotic and dramatic that nobody in the stadium could quite believe what they had watched.
Virgil van Dijk scored first. Crysencio Summerville scored again. Netherlands led twice. Japan equalised twice. Kamada’s was the one that hurt most because it came so late and because Netherlands had looked so comfortable five minutes before it.
The first half was honest about itself — drab. Chances were few. Japan sat deep in their low block and invited Netherlands onto them. Ronald Koeman’s side had 60% of the ball but could not open Japan up. Donyell Malen had the best Dutch attempt before the break. Zion Suzuki in the Japan goal barely had to work. The teams went in at 0-0 and the half deserved no better.
Then 50 minutes. Ryan Gravenberch picked the ball up in midfield and drove forward — a pass into the area for Van Dijk arriving at the back post. The Liverpool centre-back was unmarked and headed home cleanly. 1-0. Netherlands deserved the lead. The Dallas crowd finally had something to celebrate.
It lasted six minutes. Takefusa Kubo played in Keito Nakamura, who drifted outside the area and rifled a low shot toward the far post. It bounced off Jan Paul van Hecke and deflected past Verbruggen before the goalkeeper could adjust. 1-1 in the 57th minute. Another deflection deciding a big game.
Netherlands went back in front almost immediately. 64th minute. Gravenberch again — the West Ham midfielder was outstanding throughout, the best player on the pitch — played a tidy pass to Summerville on the left edge of the box. Summerville cut inside, ignored the overlapping Dumfries, and fired hard toward the far post with his weaker left foot. It kissed the post and went in. 2-1. A brilliant individual goal.
That looked like the winning goal. Japan still had half an hour to work with and Hajime Moriyasu introduced all five of his remaining substitutes. The gamble. Everything forward. Ogawa came on for Kubo. Sugawara for Doan. Japan pushed and pushed and started penning Netherlands back.
Van de Ven was yellow carded in the 90+1st minute for a tactical foul on Ito — a sign of how desperate Netherlands were getting at the back. Then the corner. Then Ogawa’s header. Then Kamada. Then the net.
The stadium erupted. Japan’s players mobbed each other. Koopmeiners had a shot in the 90+3rd that went nowhere. The final whistle followed almost immediately.
Two-two.
Netherlands look at this and feel they should have won. Summerville’s goal deserved to be the match-winner. Gravenberch was magnificent — set up both Dutch goals and covered every blade of grass. The inability to kill the game when 2-1 up, with the chance to see Japan out on the counter — that will frustrate Koeman.
Japan look at this and feel they earned every bit of it. Moriyasu’s substitutions changed the game. Ogawa’s header forced the Kamada deflection. They were behind twice and came back both times.
Neither side lost. Both sides dropped two points from their own perspective.
Group F standings after Matchday 1: Netherlands 1 point, Japan 1 point. Sweden and Tunisia meet next. The group is wide open.
For live World Cup scores from every group, visit fawanews.org.uk. Full results, standings and fixtures at the official FIFA World Cup website.
Netherlands 2-2 Japan FIFA World Cup 2026, Group F | Sunday, 14 June 2026 Dallas Stadium, Dallas, Texas
Goals: Virgil van Dijk 50′ (assist: Gravenberch), Keito Nakamura 57′ (deflection off Van Hecke), Crysencio Summerville 64′ (assist: Gravenberch), Daichi Kamada 89′ (deflection from Ogawa header, corner from Ito)
Yellow Cards: Marten de Roon 83′ (NED), Van de Ven 90+1′ (NED)
Netherlands (4-3-3): Verbruggen; Van Hecke, Van Dijk, De Roon, Dumfries; Gravenberch, Reijnders, De Jong; Malen, Gakpo (Brobbey 85′), Summerville Subs used: Brobbey (Gakpo 85′), Ake (Gravenberch 81′), Depay, others
Japan (4-2-3-1): Suzuki; Sugawara (Doan 75′), Itakura, Yoshida, Mitoma; Endo, Morita; Kubo (Ogawa 75′), Kamada, Ito; Ueda (Shiogai 84′)
Stats: Possession NED 54% — JPN 37% | Shots on Goal 6-2 | Attempts 10-9 | Corners 3-5 | Saves 1-4 | Half-time: 0-0
