Ronald Koeman expressed his expectations for better performance by the Dutch national team players, while defending the tactical decisions made during the match against Japan. The Netherlands started their World Cup Group F campaign with a 2-2 draw at Dallas Stadium. Daichi Kamada scored for Japan late in the match, equalizing for a second time after goals by Virgil van Dijk and Crysencio Summerville. Summerville, who scored his first goal for the Netherlands at the World Cup, was replaced shortly after by Nathan Ake in a defensive substitution. However, the Netherlands failed to maintain the lead. Koeman, despite this, sees no problem in his change of approach, trying to close the match in his favor. "There was also a problem with the pressure on the wings. If you look at the game, both goals, well, we didn't defend well," Koeman told reporters. "Soccer is a funny game because after Japan scored the second goal, they started defending. So we could have scored the third goal. I don't regret my choices." The match ended in a draw after an exciting second half in which four goals were scored. This was the first time the Netherlands failed to win a match at the World Cup, having led twice. It was also the first time Japan, having lost twice, avoided defeat in the finals since a 2-2 draw with Senegal in 2018. "Of course, we can play better and we need to develop throughout the tournament," Koeman added. "It was definitely not our best performance. Of course, we would have preferred to win the first match. That's what we expected." It was the first World Cup match to end in a draw with each team scoring two goals after a scoreless first half since Germany drew 2-2 with Ghana in 2014. Although Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu was pleased with his team's determination, he felt they could have scored more points. "The Netherlands were very strong, we were losing, a very difficult opponent, the players were united as one, persevered, fought until the end and didn't stop trying," Moriyasu told reporters. “Of course, we are not completely satisfied with just one point for a draw.”
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