Trailing the Netherlands 2-1 in Dallas on Sunday evening, the midfielder got a decisive touch on Koki Ogawa’s powerful header in the 88th minute, taking the ball beyond the despairing dive of Bart Verbruggen and securing his country a point in the opening match of Group F.
In doing so, Kamada – who was making his 50th cap for the Samurai Blue – became the first Palace player to score a non-penalty goal at the World Cup Finals. Mile Jedinak’s penalty for Australia in 2014, also against the Netherlands, was our only previous goal.
Afterwards, the 29-year-old, speaking to Japanese media, recalled: “I managed to put in a good block on Virgil van Dijk. After that, I was thinking about following up in front of goal, and then the ball came toward me.
“It was more like it suddenly hit me. I think I was very lucky. I actually touched it quite a bit.
“Normally, this is the kind of situation that would never really happen. But it feels like the passion and commitment I’ve had for this tournament have finally been rewarded.
“I never imagined I’d score a goal in this kind of way. But considering how much this tournament means to me and everything I’ve been through in football, it really felt like God has been watching over me.”
