Lullaby in the first half, fireworks in the second half: Expectations were justified, the Netherlands and Japan put on a spectacle

We expected a spectacle, and we got a spectacle - the Netherlands and Japan drew 2:2 in Dallas in Group F, in one of the derbies of the first round of the World Cup.

Two different halves were played in Dallas - the first with chances, but calm, not too exciting. And then in the second everything exploded.

The match in Dallas in front of around 70 spectators began with a chance from Donyel Malen. The Roma player blocked himself perfectly in the penalty area, turned and shot, and Suzuki made the first save.

The start of the game was dominated by the Dutch, and as time went on, Japan eased off the pressure and threatened for the first time in the 15th minute, when Taniguchi tried to find Maeda, but Van Hecke reacted at the last moment.

As time passed in the first half, the pace dropped and both teams became more cautious. Then Damfirs shot over the goal, and after a corner Suzuki stopped Malen again.

At the end of the first half, Japan had two chances - first Nakamura shot wide of the goal, then Ueda hit the outside of the net. That ended the first half.

And in the second, a spectacle. The announcement of a fantastic match came in the 51st minute thanks to a link from Liverpool - Gravenberh crossed from the right, and Van Dijk bowed, headed the goal to give the Netherlands the lead and scored the first goal of his career in major competitions.

Six minutes later, Japan's response arrived - the attack lasted a long time, the action went down the left side, Kubo had the ball, then passed to Nakamura, who looked for space for a long time, then positioned himself and fired from about 16 meters - 1:1.

It was clear then that we were in for a spectacle, and in the 64th minute, confirmation arrived - Dumfries dragged an opposing player away, making things easier for Somerville, who accurately sent the ball behind Suzuki's back. It was 2:1 for the Netherlands.

Japan then threatened through Kuba, the ball went over the goal from about 25 meters, and then we entered the final. "Samurai" got a corner, Ito crossed, Ogawa headed it, Van Dijk was out, and the ball hooked Kamada and ended up in the net.

Great game in Dallas, this was expected to be one of the best matches in the first round, and it was.

By the way, tonight, the Netherlands coach, Ronald Koeman, led his team at the World Cup for the first time. Koeman was the coach of the "tulas" from 2018 to 2020, and then returned in 2023.

Interestingly, his first World Cup match as coach was in the city where Koeman played his last match for the Netherlands. It was against Brazil in the quarter-finals of the 1994 World Cup.