00:02well first choice Bart Verbruggen is in goal after an injury in the final warm-up game last Monday
00:07and his Brighton clubmate Jan-Paul van Hecker is alongside the captain Virgil van Dijk
00:13first choice midfield for the Dutch Graalendaire de Jong and Rinders
00:18Crescensio Somerville uncapped until this month brings pace to the attack
00:22Daniel Marlon through the middle and Cody Gakbo from the left
00:27and the record goal scorer Memphis Depay who now plays in Brazil is fit to be on the bench
00:33USA born Zeon Suzuki has been a groundbreaker in Serie A with Parma
00:38three at the back with Ito it's a great passing range
00:44Yudzudon is the captain after the shot axing of Botaro Endo it's a big story this in Japan
00:51Kaisu Sano takes his place Dakifuza Kubo has the x-factor in attack
00:57several striking options but I ask seeing way to get the knot
01:00no surprise a lot of attention on the pitch here with that indoor lighting just above head
01:08heights spread across it for all the time Andy and I've been here until today
01:13Dakifuza trying to start it in Marlon
01:14to hold it up and set somebody else up set himself up
01:18great effort Martin he does really well doesn't he to gather that to get really
01:24Kubo cleverly waited
01:27shouting for handball I think
01:31or at least a corner it's a goal kick
01:33yeah it's a good block actually Van Hecker at the near post
01:37tracks that run of Maeda
01:39clever little play down the left hand side
01:43the defender is always across there gets his big frame right in that little gap
01:49to make some known by
01:53set up to Nakamura wanted to get it onto his left foot didn't have the time
01:57left foot was involved from Ito
02:02nice play unlucky yeah love that great combination were that on the edge of the box
02:06that's the strike with the ball sailing over from Ito but
02:12and there's picked back by Marlon
02:15he was looking to cross it instead of corner
02:19well just got their wires crossed a little bit there Japan in the middle of the park Kamada
02:27just here done the hard bit now he's looking for someone to take it Daiza Maeda actually
02:32got in his way and just for a split second there looked a yard of space but
02:38in by Ryan there's
02:41oh Ivan Hecker forced to save and then it's over the top
02:48yes goalkeepers well he was in the right place rather went straight at him I think
03:24it's actually Marlon's header yeah
03:25yeah
03:25Nakamura on that right foot got to hit the target must try and hit that target
03:31it's only decent first touch and ball just sits up and it's really inviting there to be hit but
03:38lovely run from a central defender especially at this moment
03:43it's the outside of the net
03:45from the scourge of dutch defenders in the area divisi
03:49the way down just pulls away from Virgil van Dijk
03:54it dips towards the ball and then spins and just gets that couple of yards he needs
04:00and you're right Martin with the goals that he scored this season
04:03you'd expect him to hit off we go for the second half nothing outstanding really in the first
04:09way to get in if they can that boat coming in at the far post
04:18retrieved by
04:20it's fired in low was obviously the uh intention but too low
04:37Virgil van Dijk puts his trademark on the opening game for the Netherlands for the 2026 World Cup
04:49we've talked about his goal scoring capabilities and he's shown it to the world again
04:57but he's such a threat if the delivery is good if the delivery's got some pace on it
05:04he's always always liable to cause problems that one from Rinders was poor but when he goes out on the
05:09other side
05:10to Denzel Dumfries then this one coming in with pace on it Virgil van Dijk is good
05:17there's no offside there at all and it's such an accurate header that
05:22look he's totally unmarked it's just whether he gives anybody a little nudge because he's got so
05:28much room there but the the header has got tons of accuracy behind it he's looking like a golfer wondering
05:35whether the the puck will go in exactly great ball in and yeah just beautifully controlled and guided into that
05:43far corner
05:46and they deserve their lead they have been the better team
05:49maybe now we'll see a more aggressive Japan a team that wants to get on the front foot
05:54a bit more because I think they've spent too long in the game just sitting back and
06:00believing that they can shut the door permanently on the netherlands well I'm afraid that plan
06:10back and moira had the shot
06:15they've got the rallying cry
06:27it's 1-1 in Dallas
06:31but I said they've got to come out with something different then he shows a bit of composure
06:35and you just feel that Nakamura there doesn't have the room for the shot he certainly does
06:40Dyson Maeda there is very close it's his touch actually he's very close to being offside but I
06:46think van der Wim plays him on at the back post have a look here
06:52oh it's a defender it's van Hecker
06:54position doesn't shoot as often as you might think but Somerville's having a crack here
07:00he's off and running and the dutch are back in front
07:07great goal initially started with that lovely work from Gravenberg and that Denzel Dumfries run on the
07:14overlap allows Somerville to drag in on the left foot which opens everything up and then it's just
07:20about hitting it hard enough and keeping it on target yeah but it's a great finish a really good
07:26strike that the way he hits that yeah got enough pace on it starts outside the post and brings it
07:31back in great goal great response well Ronald Koeman told me yesterday when I asked him about Somerville
07:39as he would have played earlier but he had injuries in his time in England
07:43here they come again Gatpo could well be offside
07:46Somerville coming in from the opposite side Gatpo's still going Gatpo's still going
07:53they're looking for a second equal rise with Kuba
07:55oh
07:59in a way by van Dijk the score of the first goal
08:05and no card is out for
08:08for uh to pie
08:12it's taken over from Marlon up front
08:15we did have a little look that's the right call he's had a look at him yeah he's had a
08:18look at
08:19Tanoguchi there
08:22I'll tell you what he's caught him right in the face yeah
08:28Ito with the corner
08:33it's 2-2
08:35he's got to stop that one and it's a great leap there is a deflection
08:41but I think he helps that one into the roof of the net
08:46I think he's got to say that I really do
08:50well we've seen some of what the Netherlands can offer always
08:56a team to reckon with in a major tournament
08:59but they've been pegged back twice that final little deflection by Daiichi Kamada
09:04providing the second equaliser from Agawas
09:09so
09:09when
09:09I
09:09I
09:09I
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