Initial fears that some matches would lack atmosphere because of supporters staying away, thanks to high ticket prices, appear to have been unfounded, as the showpiece event has once again been awash with colour and spectacle.
First meeting since 2013
On Sunday evening, it was the turn of the Netherlands and Japan to get their tournament underway, and hopefully get the points to hand them an early advantage in Group F.
It was the first meeting between the two countries since November 2013, when they played out a 2-2 draw, and the Japanese in particular came into the match in great form.
Not only had they remained unbeaten in eight matches, winning the last six, but they'd also not conceded a goal in their previous five games. Brazil were the last team to score against them in an October 2025 friendly.
The Dutch had won three, drawn two and lost one of their last six, scoring 10 and conceding five in that time, and arguably had the more experienced squad of the two countries.
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Van Dijk on top of his game
Indeed, the starting XI for the Netherlands consisted of eight Premier League players, two from Serie A and one from LaLiga.
Donyell Malen would have the game's first shot on target in the third minute, and with a collective 72% possession in the early stages from his side, things looked ominous for a Japanese team that couldn't muster an effort at goal until Hiroki Ito's off-target shot in the 28th minute.
As might be expected, Micky van de Ven's precise passing ensured that the Japanese attack barely got a sniff of the ball.
His 97.2% accuracy was only topped by the end of the game by Shogo Taniguchi's 98%, but sat alongside Virgil van Dijk, who himself posted a wonderful 92.2% - and with 103 total passes attempted more than anyone else on the pitch - the Tottenham and Liverpool men were a brick wall that Japan were finding extremely difficult to breach.
Goalless at the break
Despite this, it still took until the 34th minute for the Netherlands to have another attempt of any description, Malen again on target but with a header that didn't trouble Zion Suzuki.
With much of the game being played in a congested midfield, it needed the industry of Daichi Kamada and Kaishu Sano to help keep the Dutch at bay.
20 total duels attempted by the pair tells its own story, and each also won back possession on four occasions, the joint most from a Japanese point of view.
We had to wait until the 43rd minute for Japan's first attempt at goal, Keito Nakamura firing wide from inside the area.
Ayase Ueda followed this up with his only shot of the match just before the half-time whistle, and his paltry total of three passes in the first half was the worst on show. It begs the question as to why he was allowed to remain on the pitch until the 84th minute by his manager, Hajime Moriyasu.
Three goals in 13 minutes
All the game was missing as the teams headed down the tunnel was a goal, but that was soon rectified in the 51st minute when van Dijk stooped to direct a header in off the post from Ryan Gravenberch's delicious cross.
The importance of the goal may have been lost on many, but the Netherlands had avoided defeat in their last 23 matches when scoring first in the World Cup, their last loss being a 3-2 defeat to Scotland way back on 11th June 1978.
Despite also having 73% possession in the opening moments of the second half, Dutch joy was short-lived, as Nakamura had Japan back on terms within six minutes.
Crysencio Summerville's brilliant finish seven minutes after that saw the pendulum swing back in his side's favour, and with the Japanese defence only making three total tackles between them, there was a possibility that the game was going to get away from them.
To their credit, however, they dug deep, and Kamada's 100% tackle success (three from three), as well as Watanabe's 16 duels (ground and aerial) contested, made life a little more difficult for their opponents.
Japan snatch a draw at the death
Even a clear height difference between the two teams didn't stop Japan from having more crosses in the end than the Dutch (23 to 21), and one of those would help decide the outcome of the match.
In the 89th minute, Koki Ogawa connected well from a corner, and his powerful header deflected off teammate Kamada and into the net.
Whilst the Netherlands may feel hard done by, a couple of stats from the match suggested that a draw might've been regarded as a fairer result.
For example, both sides had 10 attempts at goal, and collectively made 11 tackles each, with Japan winning 10 of theirs and the Dutch just five.
As mentioned previously, the Japanese had more crosses into the box, though the Netherlands shaded possession (59.8% to 40.2%), and 463 accurate passes were well in excess of their opponents' 286.
All in all, though the game took a while to get going, it became an absorbing watch, but a share of the spoils arguably means that both sides need to look for a win in their next match to give themselves a chance of progressing out of the group.
Catch up on the match with Flashscore.
Jason Pettigrove has been the features writer for Flashscore since 2025, utilising Opta data to form the basis of his articles. He has previously worked for high profile football clubs, news and media outlets, both in print and digital, and can usually be found watching FC Barcelona when time permits.
