Japan continues to shine in World Cup opening matches with a draw against the Netherlands.

The Japan national team secured a valuable point by drawing 2-2 with the Netherlands on Sunday evening in an exciting match that opened the sixth group of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which is being held in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

The Netherlands took the lead twice with goals from Virgil van Dijk and Cresencio Summerville in the 51st and 64th minutes, respectively, but their opponent responded with goals from Kaito Nakamura and Daichi Kamada in the 57th and 89th minutes, allowing each team to earn a point.

Later, Sweden and Tunisia will play in the same group competition.

With this draw, Japan broke the Netherlands' winning streak against Asian teams in the World Cup, having won their previous six matches, and secured a valuable point in the first World Cup match held in Dallas, Texas, since the famous game between the Netherlands and Brazil in the quarter-finals of the 1994 World Cup.

The Japanese team also maintained its strong record in opening matches of the World Cup for the third consecutive time, having won against Colombia and Germany with the same score of 2-1 in their respective debuts in the 2018 and 2022 World Cups in Russia and Qatar.

The Netherlands will face Sweden in a purely European clash in the second round on June 20, while Japan will meet Tunisia early the following day.