I don’t come to see
if I can. I come
because I can.

The Samurai Blue delivered in Dallas what they promised in Nashville: discipline, character, and a sword drawn at the final whistle

Just one week ago, Kaoru Mitoma spoke these words in the mixed zone at GEODIS Park in Nashville, where the Samurai Blue prepared for the tournament. What the Brighton forward described as a typically Japanese mindset — humility, openness, relentless work — was not poetry. It was a warning. Dallas witnessed its fulfillment.

The trap was set from the first minute

In the third minute, Donyell Malen twisted inside the area and unleashed everything he had. Zion Suzuki denied him with a save that was more than instinct — it was a statement. The Parma goalkeeper arrived at this World Cup carrying the label of promising talent, and inside three minutes he had already started to prove it. It was an early scare, yes, but also the first sign that this goalkeeper came to leave his mark.

What followed surprised me, I’ll admit it. Japan has never been a culture — and in this particular case, a team — that fears big challenges. Yet Hajime Moriyasu set up a markedly conservative system, sitting deep in their own quarter of the field, surrendering the ball and the tempo entirely to the Netherlands. Ronald Koeman took the bait. The Dutch dominated territorially but with little real depth, moving the ball without finding the spaces that Franky de Jong tried to open from midfield.

Japan displayed their purest tactical principles: order, discipline, zonal defending. Keito Nakamura at 43′ and Ayase Ueda at 45′ warned that the Japanese could bite back, though without the precision needed. The half ended tight, with chances at both ends, but with a clear subtext for those who could read it: Moriyasu had laid his trap. The bill for the Netherlands’ relentless first-half running would come due in the second.

From conservative to kamikaze

In the 51st minute, Virgil Van Dijk headed home comfortably inside the area after Japanese center-back Tsuyoshi Watanabe jumped too early and gifted the Dutch captain a free run. Van Dijk is that kind of player: imposing physical presence, a permanent aerial threat on any set piece. Add a defensive error to that quality, and every element points to one outcome. The Netherlands led.

Six minutes later, Dallas erupted. Keito Nakamura received inside the area, controlled, made his move, and rolled a low finish past Bart Verbruggen. The equalizer meant far more than just a leveled score: it signaled that Japan would make any opponent pay dearly for a victory, and confirmed this team as a genuine contender to go deep in this tournament. Nakamura didn’t just ignite Dallas — he also set off fifty seconds of chaos at Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo. And on the field, he made clear that the Samurai Blue were prepared to completely reshape their tactical identity without hesitation: moving from conservative to kamikaze in an instant.

At 63′, Crysencio Summerville collected the ball in the right corner of the area, cut inside, and drove a powerful left-footed finish into the net. A deserved reward for one of the best players on the pitch and the embodiment of the Netherlands at their best — vertical, explosive, with dangerous wide play and an interior passing game orchestrated by De Jong. The Dutch were at their peak in those minutes and Japan felt the blow.

Takefusa Kubo went close at 67′. Tomiyasu found Sugawara at 80′ but straight into Verbruggen’s hands. Japan kept pressing but losing their way — my son Danny and I had discussed it before kickoff: sending crosses into a Dutch box filled with towering defenders didn’t seem like the logical path for Japan’s attackers.

But football doesn’t always follow the written rules. In the 89th minute, a corner. Koki Ogawa won the first header inside the area. Daichi Kamada finished it. Two aerial challenges where nobody saw them coming. The Samurai sword drawn at the final whistle — and Dallas lost its mind.

Koeman took the bait. Moriyasu collected the bill.

Franky de Jong was undeniably the standout performer for the Netherlands — the absolute master of midfield, always available, always unmarked, pulling every string with an authority rarely seen in a World Cup opener. The Dutch played a strong match: they tactically subdued a very difficult opponent, exploited the flanks well, never abandoned their interior passing game, and were explosive in transition.

But perhaps they underestimated their opponent’s capacity to respond. Or perhaps the legs simply weren’t there to defend the lead in the final minutes — the price of so much running in the first half, when Moriyasu invited them to dominate without urgency. Does it feel like a defeat? Perhaps. But looking at those final minutes, the draw was the best outcome a Netherlands side with nothing left in the tank could have hoped for.

Japan, meanwhile, leaves Dallas with something more valuable than a point: the confirmation that this generation doesn’t come to test themselves. As Mitoma said in Nashville — I don’t come to see if I can. I come because I can. Today in Dallas, the Samurai Blue signed it with two headers.

«We never forget that mind when we are young, when we started. We work hard and that mentality is a key to build and handle our mentality. That’s a Japanese typical mind — you will see it in a game.»