Japan showed tremendous resilience as they came from behind twice to earn a 2-2 draw against the Netherlands in their FIFA World Cup 2026 Group F opener in Texas.
The Dutch started strongly and took the lead through Cody Gakpo before Japan responded with an equaliser from Kaoru Nakamura. The Netherlands regained the advantage in the 64th minute when Crysencio Summerville curled home a fine effort. However, Japan refused to surrender and struck again in the 88th minute to secure a valuable point. The entertaining contest was played in front of 69,285 spectators and featured end-to-end action throughout.
The result leaves both teams with one point and keeps Group F wide open heading into the next round of matches.