The Netherlands drew 2-2 with Japan in their opening match in Group F of the 2026 World Cup on the morning of June 15th. The "Orange Tornado" took the lead twice thanks to goals from Virgil van Dijk (51st minute) and Crysencio Summerville (64th minute). However, Japan forced the Netherlands to share the points when Keito Nakamura and Daichi Kamada scored twice to equalize. Notably, Kamada's equalizer, a header, came in the 89th minute.
Daichi Kamada scored the equalizer in the 89th minute, making the score 2-2 - Photo: Reuters
After the match, Van Dijk shared his disappointment with the Dutch media: “You know they can still be dangerous from set pieces and counter-attacks. Unfortunately, the ball still went into the net and we conceded very late. I don’t feel good about this at all.” The Dutch player continued: “It’s bitter that the goal came from a set piece. Before that, we had controlled the game quite well.”
Van Dijk also expressed frustration with Japan 's equalizer, which made it 1-1 just minutes after he had opened the scoring. "I feel it was a avoidable goal. He (Nakamura) is right-footed, so we should have forced him out wide. We shouldn't have let them equalize so quickly, and we only have ourselves to blame," Van Dijk continued.
The Netherlands captain admitted that he and his teammates faced many difficulties against Japan: " They maintained a very tight and disciplined formation, making it difficult to break through their defense. You had to move the ball to the flanks and make long passes. This wasn't easy. But basically, the Japanese team also accepted man-to-man marking in the back, meaning there was still space for us to exploit. Now it's time for the whole team to keep moving forward.”
Following their draw against Japan, the Netherlands will face Sweden (June 21st, 00:00 Vietnam time) and Tunisia (June 26th, 06:00).
Source: https://vtcnews.vn/nhat-ban-go-hoa-phut-89-van-dijk-noi-that-cay-dang-ar1023628.html
