Japan national team, fans ready for opening World Cup tilt

DALLAS - Practice at Southern Methodist University may have been closed Saturday, but that didn't stop fans of Japan's national team, the Samurai Blue, from showing up.

Japan is set to face the Netherlands Saturday afternoon at Dallas Stadium in Arlington, and fans are excited to get even a passing glance at their favorite players.

What they're saying:

"We gotta see the home players up close," Lisa Aoki said. "We are so thrilled to be at the match."

Inside SMU's soccer stadium, Japan's national team trained ahead of the match. Midfielder Tanaka Ao said there was excitement at the start of the tournament and that it was important to get off to a good start.

"Not nervous, but excited," Ao said. "First game is massive for us and we have to win against the Netherlands."

The Samurai Blue are the highest ranked Asian team in FIFA. They'll likely be considered the underdog Sunday.

"They have a really good squad, but we are ready to just get points," Takehiro Tomiyasu said.

Big picture view:

Dallas Stadium is one of three venues where players and fans will not have to worry about summer heat or storms.

"It's not easy to play in this. But we train in Mexico as well, so I think we all adapted to this environment," Ao said.

In addition to being the first time in more than 30 years that a World Cup match has been played in Texas, Sunday also marks the first time a game has been played at the stadium on natural grass.

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