Netherlands-Japan 2-2: Junya Itone was man of the match, Roman Naguchev thinks
Roman Naguchev praised Junya Ito's performance in the Netherlands-Japan 2-2 draw, saying 'he was the best'.
The Netherlands and Japan drew 2–2 in the first match of the FIFA World Cup 2026 group stage. Famous Russian commentator Roman Naguchev declared that Japanese winger Junya Itone was the best player of the match.
On his Telegram channel, Naguchev commented, "Zunyan is the best! It's a bit of a shame his name isn't Artyom..." Junya Ito started the match as a substitute and came on in the 66th minute.
And this result also brought to light the fact that the Netherlands team ended the record of 27 consecutive World Cup matches without giving more than one goal after the interval.
Next fixtures: The Netherlands will face Sweden in the second round on June 20 and Tunisia in the third round on June 26. Japan will face Tunisia in the second round on June 21 and Sweden in the third round on June 26.