Emperor Naruhito, King Willem-Alexander witness Japan-Netherlands FIFA World Cup stalemate

DALLAS: Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako joined King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands in the stands as Daichi Kamada’s late equaliser secured Japan a dramatic 2-2 draw against the Dutch in their FIFA World Cup 2026 Group F opener on Sunday (Local Time).

The official X account of the Royal House of the Netherlands shared photographs of the four royals together and wrote, “Sport brings people together! King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima, Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako watch together as the Oranje Leeuwen and the Samurai Blue face off in Dallas for their first group stage match of the FIFA World Cup”.

Sport verbroedert!

Koning Willem-Alexander en Koningin Máxima, Keizer Naruhito en Keizerin Masako kijken samen hoe de Oranje Leeuwen en de Samurai Blue het in Dallas tegen elkaar opnemen bij hun eerste groepswedstrijd van het WK Voetbal.

RVD & Z.M. de Koning pic.twitter.com/fLurEfz0Ej

— Koninklijk Huis (@koninklijkhuis) June 14, 2026

The high-profile attendance added to the occasion as Japan staged a late comeback to secure a valuable point against one of Europe’s strongest sides.

After a tightly contested first half ended goalless, the Netherlands broke the deadlock six minutes after the restart. A delivery from Ryan Gravenberch found captain Virgil van Dijk, who finished clinically to put the Dutch ahead in the 51st minute.

Japan responded swiftly. In the 57th minute, Takefusa Kubo picked out Shunsuke Nakamura, who fired past goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen at the near post to restore parity and ignite the contest.

The Dutch regained control seven minutes later when Crysencio Summerville collected possession on the right flank and unleashed a powerful strike into the bottom corner to make it 2-1. Summerville had earlier been booked but quickly turned from villain to hero with his decisive contribution.

The Netherlands appeared set to claim all three points as they continued to enjoy the majority of possession, finishing with nearly 60 per cent of the ball and six shots on target. However, Japan produced one final twist.

With two minutes of normal time remaining, Koki Ogawa rose to meet a corner before a deflection helped the ball fall kindly for Daichi Kamada, who steered it into the net to level the scores at 2-2.

Despite six minutes of added time, neither side could find a winner, leaving Japan and the Netherlands with one point each from their opening Group F fixture. (ANI)