Virgil van Dijk headed the Netherlands ahead six minutes into the second half against Japan, but his side were denied a World Cup Group F victory when Koki Ogawa equalised two minutes from time at the AT&T Stadium in Dallas – a goal that sparked fury from Japan manager Hajime Moriyasu over a VAR decision.
Van Dijk connected with Liverpool teammate Ryan Gravenberch’s cross to give Ronald Koeman’s side the lead. Although a VAR check took place after the goal, it only examined offside and not a possible foul in the build-up, leaving Moriyasu furious on the sidelines as he made his feelings clear to the fourth official.
“Virgil van Dijk scored but Netherlands drew with Japan after late Koki Ogawa equaliser and VAR controversy.”
Japan hit back through Keito Nakamura, but Crysencio Summerville restored the Dutch advantage with a fine individual goal in the 64th minute. Just as the Netherlands looked set for victory, substitute Ogawa rose highest to head Junya Ito’s corner past goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen, the ball deflecting off Daichi Kamada before going in.
“They didn’t create that much, so that’s why it’s extra disappointing that we conceded through a set-piece,” Van Dijk said. “But that’s the reality, we take the point, and now we focus on Sweden. We just have to keep going. Hopefully there are still many more games to come for us. Because we conceded late on, it doesn’t feel as nice, but we move on.”
Moriyasu, still seething at the VAR oversight, said: “We managed to get a result through our collective effort. We defended patiently and then tried to be more aggressive going forward. The players executed what we had planned and prepared for.”
The Japan manager also offered a tearful apology to Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, who retired from international football after being ruled out of the World Cup with a foot problem sustained against Sunderland on 11 February. Endo returned for 45 minutes in a warm-up victory over Iceland, but his recovery had not progressed as hoped. “Overall, the medical staff and I shared the opinion that it would be difficult for him to play at 100 percent,” Moriyasu said. “Based on my own observations of his rehabilitation, I made that judgment.”