ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Those blue bags Japan fans waved in a frenzy after their team got a late tying goal were then used after the final whistle to maintain what has become a cleansing World Cup tradition.

Follow for live updates from Japan's World Cup opener vs. Netherlands! ARLINGTON, TX — The three Japan goalkeepers came onto the field and bowed to the cheering fans at Arlington Stadium, with starter Zion Suzuki waving to the crowd before beginning to work on goal kicks in the opening warm-ups.

Ahead of Japan's World Cup opener against the Netherlands, here are the clubs represented by all of their 26 players.

The Japan national soccer team is making Nashville its home base during the World Cup and will be using Nashville SC's training facilities.

By William Schomberg June 14 (Reuters) - Matches are often described as a game of two halves but seldom has the old cliche been more apt than on Sunday when all the goals in the Netherlands' 2-2 draw against Japan came in a pulsating second period after a cagey first 45 minutes.

Japan and the Netherlands traded goals as a promising Group F opener to the 2026 World Cup delivered the goods and then some from Dallas Stadium in Texas.

ARLINGTON, TX — Japan and the Netherlands meet at AT&T Stadium on Sunday in one of the most highly-anticipated group stage matches in this 2026 World Cup.

As has been seen at every other World Cup, the fans hung around Dallas Stadium in Arlington long after the game ended to clean up their trash left behind, a tradition that has caught eyes every four years since 1998 in France, the country's first appearance in the World cup.

It’s by no means a new thing, and Japan’s fans first went viral for their tidy behaviour at the 2018 World Cup in Russia — even after an agonising defeat ended their run in that competition. They were beaten in the final minute of the game by Belgium in the last-16, despite having gone two goals ahead.

USA TODAY's soccer experts lock in their picks for Netherlands vs Japan in Sunday's World Cup matchup