“This game was very tough and the Netherlands are 100 percent a top 10 team in the world,” said Kamada. “In the past Japan always played really well against good opponents but we couldn’t get a point, even if we performed well we lost.

“But since the last World Cup we’ve won against top national teams and this game was also a tough game but we could get a point. This is the difference between the past and now.

“This World Cup we really want to win and we can still improve a lot. We have potential. We’ll just focus on the next game.”

Moriyasu has set his side the lofty aim of winning the FIFA World Cup and the team’s results against top class over the last four years mean that ambition is not as unrealistic as it might have been in the past.

Japan notched up wins over Spain and Germany in the group phase in Qatar in 2022 and since then have registered high profile friendly victories over the Germans, Brazil and England as well as qualifying comfortably for the FIFA World Cup.

“I think we have experience now,” Kamada said of how the Japan squad has grown since 2022. “Many of these players played in the last World Cup and we have experience, so this is really important to play in this big competition.

“Also some players are playing for big clubs right now, many players are playing in the Europa League or in the UEFA Conference League so we always play against these kind of good opponents. This is the difference between the past and now.”

Kamada is one of those players to have experienced continental club competition in Europe having been a key part of Crystal Palace’s UEFA Conference League winning side under Oliver Glasner.

And he was quick to credit the Austrian for the work he has done to facilitate a change in position for the former playmaker, who is now making an impact in a deeper role in midfield for both club and country.

“In modern football we need more physicality and unfortunately I’m not such a fast player,” he said. “I was always thinking that I really wanted to play as a No. 6 but Moriyasu said I need to learn more and be more defensive.

“Oliver Glasner gave me the opportunity to play as a No. 6 and I’ve learned a lot about defending. Now I think we have many fast players so that’s why I play at No. 6. The other 10 players make runs from deep and do something different."

“I was always thinking I could play as a No. 6, since I was 18. I’m really enjoying it. No. 6 is the perfect position for me, No. 8 also. To be a No. 10 in modern football you need more physicality.”

Despite his deeper role in the Japan team, it was Kamada who popped up with the equaliser against the Dutch, inadvertently redirecting Koki Ogawa’s header from Junya Ito’s corner beyond Bart Verbruggen to spark wild scenes of celebration.

“That was just lucky but for me it’s a dream come true,” Kamada said. “A goal is a goal and I could help the team. At the last World Cup I didn’t perform well, so I’m really happy to help the team.”

Photos: AFP