Other than the goal, and there was a push from Van Dijk, Japan weren’t particularly troubled on set pieces. Besides, Ogawa is 186cm and scored a lot of headers in the Dutch league, he was probably one of the biggest dangers on the pitch in that category.
People shouldn't have been surprised to see Japan equalise from a headed goal after a corner yesterday.
Defending set pieces is obviously one of their weaknesses. The lack of physicality and height was particularly noticeable against the Netherlands, and their full man-marking approach didn't help either.
Attacking set pieces, however, are a completely different story.
With the right routines, blocks and movements, you can create advantages regardless of size.
During the qualifiers, Japan scored 12 headed goals - more than any other AFC nation.
It was no surprise to see them target Ogawa after he came on. He scored 5 headed goals during qualifying on his own.
Japan may struggle to defend set pieces against bigger opponents, but they're much more dangerous attacking them than many people realise.