It all started in 2018 when they had a shocking 2-0 lead in the second half against favorites Belgium in the Round of 16, it continued in 2022 when they topped a group with Spain and Germany, and four years later they put on another show in an amazing back-and-forth battle against the Netherlands and rescued a point in heroic fashion with a late equalizer from a deflected header in the box.
There is no more doubt about it: if you’re not watching Japan at the World Cup, you are missing out on a whole
lot of entertainment. If much of their early rise in the rankings was about remarkable fitness and tactical discipline, Japan’s brilliance these days is based on genuine world-class talent, fantastic team spirit, and a never-say-die attitude that can create moments like we saw in Qatar four years ago and the amazing scenes of Sunday’s Group F opener against the Dutch in Dallas.
The tears in the eyes of coach Hajime Moriyasu during the national anthem was the perfect image to symbolize what moves this Japan side, and how their belief combined with great talent makes them true contenders against every team in this tournament. If you are one of the big favorites, you do not want to see Japan in the knockout stages.
If you are a football fan, you must see Japan every time they play. What a joy.
Ronald Koeman is a football terrorist
On the other side of the incredible action at the home of the Cowboys was a Dutch team that put on a show for about 70 minutes until their coach decided to not only ruin the fun, but ruin his team: Ronald Koeman’s decision to remove every single attacking player and park the bus to protect a 2-1 lead in the group opener was not only baffling, but disgusting for a team as talented and solid as the Netherlands are.
Sure, the Dutch continued their remarkable streak of never losing a World Cup opener, but ask any Dutch fan and they will be appalled by Koeman’s decision to give up on a really strong attacking performance to try and play an ultra-defensive style that simply doesn’t suit his players. Despite the 5-4-1 shape, the low block and the big, tall players all over the pitch, the Netherlands couldn’t defend properly and still conceded plenty of space to a Japan team that had multiple chances to find an equalizer that eventually came.
Barcelona fans watched this film enough times during Koeman’s tenure as coach five years ago that they eventually soured on a man who was a true club legend as a player, and Koeman runs the same risk with his home nation if he continues to fight against the instincts of a very talented squad that is supposed to attack, score goals and entertain.
Curaçao lived their wildest World Cup dreams, then Germany happened
When Livano Comenencia’s shot deflected off Joshua Kimmich’s knee and found the back of the net 20 minutes into the action, the small nation of Curaçao had an out of body experience for 15 minutes as their team was actually drawing 1-1 with four-time champions Germany in Houston. It was a wonderful moment that fans around the world enjoyed, but the Germans decided the fun was over.
Germany’s win in their Group E opener was never truly in doubt even during the 15 minutes of the Curaçao fever dream, but the second half destruction that followed was a reminder that when their wonderful attacking talent clicks, Germany can be really hard to stop. A 7-1 scoreline that gave Brazil fans everywhere nightmares, and a much-needed strong start for a German side that failed to get out of the group stage in the last two World Cups.
Tougher tests in the group will soon come, but the ruthlessness shown by Germany on Sunday will serve them well going forward.
Ivory Coast and Ecuador (almost) played a goalless draw for the ages
If you’re a true football sicko, there’s almost nothing more fun than a great 0-0. Even though the object of the sport is scoring goals, watching a highly-entertaining stalemate where both teams do literally everything but score can be a truly amazing experience. And that’s exactly what the Ivory Coast and Ecuador gave us in their Group E opener in Philadelphia.
It was fitting that the city of Rocky saw a true heavyweight battle between two big, physical nations that gave each other everything they could handle, and the energy and physicality was also accompanied by great skill: Yan Diomande lived up to the pre-tournament hype and put on an absolute show whether on the right or left wing, dominating Ecuador’s excellent full-backs and creating several chances for the Elephants.
The teams combined to hit the woodwork four times, and it looked as though we were headed for one of those legendary 0-0’s until Amad Diallo decided to ruin the fun and score a beautiful winner off the bench to give the Ivorians a giant win.
Sweden’s frontline is just unfair
Sweden would not have had a chance to make the World Cup if not for their Nations League campaign, and Graham Potter had very little time to fix an absolute mess of a national team that was once seen as a dark horse in big tournaments.
There were virtually no expectations for their participation in this World Cup, but the lineups came out for their Group F opener against Tunisia in Monterrey and we saw two names: Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyökeres. And then everything changed.
Gyökeres and Isak proceeded to completely dominate the match from start to finish with their terrifying combination of size, speed and finishing ability, and they led Sweden to a very impressive 5-1 win as both strikers finished with a goal and an assist on the night.
Their great numbers only tell part of the story, however, as their overall play with and without the ball showcased just how dangerous the Swedes can be if these two stay injury-free for the entire tournament. The Netherlands and Japan will provide much tougher tests than Tunisia, of course, but it will be hard to find a defense capable of fully stopping Sweden’s front two if they continue to play this well.
