Reporter's Notebook: A Lone Star Samurai Blue experiencing a World Cup match in Dallas

We caught up with the Japanese national team the day before their match at "Jerry World" — aka Dallas Stadium — for the FIFA 2026 World Cup.

We had been walking around downtown Dallas after a wonderfully heavy Tex-Mex lunch, taking in the sights of a city completely caught up in World Cup fever.

When we found out Team Japan was staying at the W Hotel just a few blocks away, we decided to brave the 90-degree Texas heat and walk over just to see what was happening. Our timing couldn’t have been better.

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As we hit the corner of Nowitzki Way and Houston Street — aptly named after an NBA legend and a hero of the Texas Revolution — police were blocking off the light Saturday afternoon traffic. 

A motorcycle cop flashed his lights and blared his siren, and then we saw it: a massive bus decked out in blue, sporting the unmistakable red disc of the Land of the Rising Sun.

The bus pulled up to the W, and we moved toward the barrier. A dozen or so Japanese fans were waving and bouncing like a J-Pop band had just arrived, shouting players' names as they stepped off the bus. 

They were just returning from their local training base at SMU, but the energy was already electric.

As social media has proven since the tournament kicked off, Japan is absolutely soccer-crazy. Case in point:

What elicited those deafening chants long before kickoff?

Simply a live broadcast of the team getting off the bus at the stadium. Not warming up, not kicking a ball —just walking to the locker room.

It’s hard not to root for Japan these days. As the country enjoys an unprecedented wave of global popularity thanks to tourism, food, and pop culture, their soccer fans have risen to the top of the world stage. 

They are passionate, incredibly friendly, and famously respectful — embracing American culture while meticulously cleaning up their stadium rows whether they win, lose, or draw.

Thanks to my family connections, I got to be right in the thick of it. Nothing against the Dutch, but unless the USA is on the pitch, I’m a Lone Star Samurai Blue.

My brother-in-law and nephew traveled all the way from Tokyo to my home state to see the game with my son and me. It was their third World Cup, but my very first. 

To give them the full Texas experience, we checked off all the staples: homemade and restaurant BBQ, Tex-Mex, Buc-ee’s, and a trip to the gun range. They loved every minute of it.

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We had bought our tickets the day they went on sale, landing seats up near the stadium roof. But it didn't matter — there isn’t a bad seat in the house. 

We were surrounded by the faithful, with the "ultras" just off to our left. No matter what was happening on the field, they never stopped chanting "Nippon! Nippon!" 

The atmosphere surpassed any sporting event I’ve ever attended in person. 

Nearly everyone was decked out in team colors: the Dutch fans were mostly stoic; the Japanese fans were loud, animated, and keeping the stadium rocking.

The match opened with a very American, rocket-launch-style countdown. 

The first half, however, was anything but explosive. 

The Netherlands dominated possession while Japan sat back and defended. "Turgid" might be one way to describe it; "cagey" and "strategic" are probably more complimentary. Both teams played exactly to type.

The second half was a completely different story, bursting with action on both ends of the pitch. The Netherlands struck first when legendary defender Virgil van Dijk opened the scoring with one of his trademark headers.

Instead of falling silent, Japan’s fans just got louder and jumped harder. The players fed off that energy. Just seven minutes later, Japan struck back through Keito Nakamura.

The equalizer brought roar after roar from the crowd. 

In the chaos, I high-fived my family, the family in front of me, the Japanese family to my left, and accidentally high-fived the family behind me who were wearing Netherlands jerseys. 

Luckily, they didn’t seem to mind.

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The Dutch reclaimed the lead in the 64th minute through West Ham’s Crysencio Summerville, and once again, the Japanese fans responded by cranking up the noise. The players picked up the pace, pushing higher and harder up the field.

Their reward came in the 89th minute. Japan earned a corner and converted it into a brilliant goal off the heads of Koki Ogawa and Daichi Kamada. 

A thrilling 2-2 draw was a highly respectable way to start the tournament.

While casual observers might not traditionally group Japan with soccer's elite, they aren't surprising anyone who has been paying attention. 

Japan’s women’s team are already global powers with a World Cup trophy to their name, and the men’s team has notched some serious giant-killings recently, beating Brazil and top-five ranked England in the run-up to 2026. 

(Not to mention their stunning win over Spain in the 2022 World Cup, which knocked four-time champions Germany out of the tournament).

And while the domestic J-League is over 30 years old and thriving, the national team has quietly become a European powerhouse. 

The vast majority of its roster plays for top-tier European clubs: defender Takehiro Tomiyasu was a fan favorite with English giants Arsenal before moving to Ajax; maestro Takefusa Kubo is at Real Sociedad; goalkeeper Zion Suzuki is with Parma; Hiroki Ito is at Bayern Munich; and Kamada is at Crystal Palace. 

That is a massive amount of elite European experience, and that's not even all of Japan's national team talent.

They are incredibly good. They play like a tight team, with technical intelligence and a nasty counterattack that can flood the opposition's half in a flash.