Japan fought back after trailing twice to earn a 2-2 draw against the Netherlands, in an entertaining Group F match to open their 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign in the Dallas suburb of Arlington on Sunday.

Following a cagey first 45 minutes that featured relatively few attacking threats from either side, the contest opened up dramatically after the intermission, with both teams trading goals in a lively second half.

The Netherlands broke the deadlock in the 51st minute, when captain Virgil van Dijk was left unmarked inside the penalty area and powered a header into the net off a pass from Ryan Gravenberch.

Japan responded six minutes later, as Takefusa Kubo fed Keito Nakamura outside the box before the winger unleashed a low strike that deflected off Jan Paul van Hecke, beating goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen to knot the score at 1-1.

Coach Ronald Koeman's Oranje restored their advantage in the 64th minute, thanks to an excellent individual effort from Crysencio Summerville. Cutting inside from the right flank, the forward bypassed an overlapping Denzel Dumfries and fired a left-footed shot in off the post, beyond the reach of Japanese shot-stopper Zion Suzuki.

Needing another answer, the Samurai Blue gradually increased the pressure as coach Hajime Moriyasu reshaped his unit by using all five substitutions.

The changes helped shift the momentum toward the Asian side, which spent the closing stages pushing the Dutch defense deeper and deeper into its own half of the field.

Those efforts paid off two minutes from time. Junya Ito's corner kick was first met by substitute Koki Ogawa, with his header glancing off Daichi Kamada before slipping away from the grasp of Verbruggen, who could only help further nudge the ball into the Netherlands net.

Japan's late equalizer ensured that each team would settle for one point to kick off Group F, with the result adding to the Samurai Blue's reputation for fortitude on the World Cup stage, while denying the Oranje an opening victory.

Other results:

Germany 7-1 Curacao (Group E)

Cote d'Ivoire 1-0 Ecuador (Group E)

Sweden 5-1 Tunisia (Group F)