South Korea won the first match. Cutter drew. Another Asian nation Japan made a spectacular comeback despite falling behind in the first match. Japan finished 2-2 against the Netherlands.
Japan came back from behind twice and showed that Asian countries are not inferior to European teams. When everyone thought Japan would never come back, they answered. And the Dutch were defeated by a Japanese counterattack. Kamad’s goal in the 89th minute crushed all hopes of the Dutch. Japan snatched points from the Netherlands.
Although the first half was scoreless, the match heated up after the break. All four goals of the game came in the second half. In the 51st minute, Dutch captain Virgil van Dijk put the Netherlands ahead. However, Japan’s Keito Nakamura equalized in just six minutes. In the 64th minute, the Dutch regained the lead with Crescencio Somerville’s goal. But in the end, Japan did not give up. Daichi Kamada’s goal in the 89th minute brought the Asians level again. Japan left the field with a point after a thrilling game.
Both teams played attacking football in the first half but no goals were scored. In the 34th minute, Japan goalkeeper Jeon Suzuki expertly saved Malen’s header from a corner. A number of excellent saves by him kept the scoreline at 0-0 at the break.
The picture of the match changed in the second half. In the 51st minute, Van Dijk put the Netherlands ahead with a great header from a right wing cross. No one noticed him when he took his head. The Dutch captain headed the goal unhindered.
However, Japan responded only six minutes later. Keito Nakamura equalized in the 57th minute with a brilliant attack from the left.
The Netherlands scored again in the 64th minute. Crescencio Somerville of the Netherlands in the orange jersey gave the team a 2-1 lead. But Japan did not give up the fight. Kamada scored in the 89th minute to level the score at 2-2. After that, neither team could score.
Japan fakes attacks with short passes. Although they dropped extra footballers in defense to deal with the Netherlands attack, Japan counter-attacked at lightning speed as soon as they got the ball back. That pace was accompanied by perfect passing and a stifling attack.
In the end, that constant pressure paid off. Despite falling behind twice, Japan did not give up, but proved the strength of Asian football by taking a point against one of Europe’s strongest teams.