Japan national team, fans ready for opening World Cup tilt

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."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.Dallas Stadium is one of three venues where players and