ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) – Daichi Kamata’s header off Koki Ogawa’s corner kick in the 88th minute sent Samurai Blue fans into a frenzy as Japan drew 2-2 with the Netherlands. in their world cup Opening game on Sunday.
Orange-clad Orange fans were stunned by a late goal that made it 21-2-11 in World Cup group play, while the Netherlands extended their unbeaten run in group play to 16 games.
Virgil van Dijk and Chrisencio Somerville scored from each post early in the second half, and Keito Nakamura scored between the two in just 14 minutes, resulting in a three-goal spree.
AT&T Stadium is the home of the Dallas Cowboys, with a retractable roof to provide relief from the oppressive Texas heat and a giant video board that fans had a hard time taking their eyes off of.
Somerville gave the eighth-placed Netherlands the lead in the 64th minute, and with Japan in a desperate situation, Kamata perfectly timed a corner kick thrown by Ogawa. The ball turned slightly again and dived towards Bad Verbruggen, who got the ball while diving wide, but was unable to stop it.
In the 50th minute, Van Dijk fired a header towards the far post on the right, leaning forward to stare at the ball from inside the penalty area, and the ball marked the Dutch captain’s 13th international goal.
Seven minutes later, Japan, ranked 18th, received a pass from Takefusa Kubo, turned Nakamura, and fired a shot past Verbruggen from the left side of the arc.
Seven minutes later, Somerville found the back of the net again, receiving a pass from Ryan Gravenbirch and firing a left-footed shot past Zion Suzuki and into the far left post.
The last time the Netherlands lost before the qualifying round was in 1994, the last time the World Cup was held in the United States, when they lost in group play at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas and lost to Brazil in the quarterfinals.
In Group F, the Netherlands will play Sweden in Houston on Saturday, while Japan will play Tunisia in Monterrey, Mexico on Saturday.
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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
