Ayase Ueda scored two goals in the match. (Reuters)
Japan 4 : 0 Tunisia
Even if nothing remarkable had happened during the full ninety minutes, this match would have secured a unique place in World Cup history simply for being the tournament’s 1,000th game. Japan made the milestone match memorable for themselves as well; in their second Group F fixture, the Asian side defeated Tunisia by a commanding 4–0 margin.
This marks the highest number of goals scored by an Asian nation in a single FIFA World Cup match. Ayase Ueda scored two of Japan’s four goals, while Daichi Kamada and Junya Ito netted the others. Following this heavy defeat to Japan, Tunisia’s elimination from the 2026 World Cup group stage has been confirmed.
Tunisia entered the match at the Monterrey Stadium in Mexico with a new head coach. The Tunisian Football Federation had dismissed coach Sabri Lamouchi after a 5–1 loss to Sweden in their opening game, appointing French coach Hervé Renard just before the match against Japan.
However, Renard—who had managed Saudi Arabia in the previous tournament—could not turn Tunisia’s fortunes around. Instead, they fell behind in the fourth minute to a goal by Kamada. After conceding early, Tunisia spent the rest of the match struggling to defend against relentless Japanese attacks.
Japan doubled their lead in the 31st minute through Ueda. The forward, who plays for the Dutch club Feyenoord, scored his second goal of the match in the 83rd minute. Prior to that, Ito had netted the team’s third goal in the 69th minute.
Having previously drawn with the Netherlands, Japan boosted their chances of reaching the knockout stage with this emphatic victory over Tunisia. Both Japan and the Netherlands now have four points in Group F. Conversely, Tunisia’s elimination from the tournament is confirmed with one match still to play. Even if the team manages to defeat the Dutch in their final group-stage match, they will not secure more than three points. And even if Sweden remains stuck on three points, there is no chance for Tunisia to finish third in the group due to the head-to-head tie-breaker rules.
