may be the country\u2019s best chance in years.<\/a><\/p>\nCaptain Virgil van Dijk, forward Memphis Depay, and midfielder Frenkie de Jong anchor a roster that blends seasoned veterans with rising European talent. The balance is deliberate \u2014 and Koeman\u2019s second stint in charge is built around it.<\/p>\n
Koeman previously coached the national team from 2018 to 2020, leading the Netherlands to the 2019 UEFA Nations League final. He returned in 2023 with a clear mandate: deliver the country\u2019s first World Cup title.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe put a lot of pressure on ourselves,\u201d Koeman said. \u201cWe want to go far in the tournament. We have a strong team and we know what we need to improve to have a real chance. But we need to take it one game at a time.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Sunday, the Netherlands showed flashes of why expectations are so high \u2014 even if the scoreboard didn\u2019t tilt their way.<\/p>\n
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The team\u2019s first dangerous chance came in the third minute, when Donyell Malen ripped a shot from inside the Japanese box, forcing goalkeeper Zion Suzuki into a full stretch for a spectacular save.<\/p>\n
Japan settled in after that early scare, closing down every pocket of space in its defensive half and pushing forward only when necessary. The message was obvious \u2014 protecting the clean sheet came first.<\/p>\n
Japan finally created its lone moment of danger in the 43rd minute, when Keito Nakamura unleashed a shot that skimmed past the base of the right post of the Dutch goal, defended by Bart Verbruggen.<\/p>\n
In the second half, the Netherlands finally broke through the Japanese defense, opening the scoring in the 50th minute with a header from captain Virgil van Dijk, assisted by Ryan Gravenberch.<\/p>\n
Eight minutes later, Japan pulled level when Keito Nakamura drilled a right\u2011footed shot from outside the box into the bottom\u2011left corner, finishing off an assist from Takefusa Kubo.<\/p>\n
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The Oranje answered right away. In the 62nd minute, Crysencio Summerville cut inside from the right and drilled a left\u2011footed strike into the bottom\u2011left corner, restoring the Dutch lead.<\/p>\n
The Blue Samurai salvaged the draw in the 88th minute, when Daichi Kamada rose to head home a corner kick, capping an electrifying match in front of 69,285 fans.<\/p>\n
Confidence without panic<\/p>\n
The draw against Japan only increases the pressure on a Dutch team whose fans expect a great deal in this World Cup.<\/p>\n
Netherlands midfielder Frenkie de Jong said the team is aware of the excitement back home \u2014 but not overwhelmed by it.<\/p>\n
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\u201cObviously we are aware of the feelings and the vibe in the Netherlands,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not as if our self-confidence has been jeopardized. We are full of self-confidence and hope we\u2019ll be able to provide good results.\u201d<\/p>\n
Van Dijk, appearing in his second World Cup, echoed the sentiment.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow far can we go? Hopefully all the way,\u201d the defender said. \u201cWe won\u2019t look too far ahead. But we all have big dreams, and we\u2019ll give all we have.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Netherlands reached the semifinals in the 2014 World Cup before failing to qualify in 2018.<\/p>\n
The team returned in 2022, conceding just one goal in group play and beating the U.S. in the round of 16 <\/a>before losing to eventual champion Argentina on penalty kicks.<\/p>\nRemove shootouts, and the Dutch are unbeaten in their\u00a0last 12 World Cup matches \u2014 a streak surpassed only by Brazil\u2019s 13 straight between 1958 and 1966.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we have a great group of players, especially human beings,\u201d van Dijk said. \u201cWe are coming together here and trying to make our country proud. It\u2019s the biggest thing we can do.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Netherlands will face Sweden and Tunisia in its other two Group F matches.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are not afraid of our opponent, but we respect them,\u201d Koeman said, embracing yet another chance to chase the trophy that has eluded the Netherlands for generations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"El director t\u00e9cnico de la selecci\u00f3n masculina de f\u00fatbol de los Pa\u00edses Bajos, Ronald Koeman (derecha), responde a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":336414,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[27,29,28],"class_list":["post-336413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=336413"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336413\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/336414"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=336413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=336413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=336413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}