With two goals from Ayase Ueda and one goal each from Daichi Kamata and Junya Ito, Asian giants Japan maintain their second place in Group F.
Published June 21, 2026
Japan defeated Tunisia 4-0 on Saturday, marking the 1,000th match in World Cup history and moving closer to advancing to the last 32.
Ayase Ueda scored twice, Daichi Kamata and Junya Ito also scored, and the Asian giants join the Netherlands at the top of Group F with four points.
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Tunisia lost 5-1 to Sweden in the first match of the tournament, and now has no hope of advancing to the finals.
The Blue Samurai, who held the Netherlands to a 2-2 draw in the opening match of Group F, were always in control against Tunisia at Monterrey Stadium.
The result was a bad start for Tunisia’s new coach, Hervé Renard, who was forced to take over the World Cup after his predecessor, Sabri Lamouchi, was sacked following Sweden’s disastrous defeat.
But Renard’s side had no intention of threatening the technically superior Japanese side, who quickly adopted their trademark smooth passing game.
Daichi Kamata scored the opening goal just four minutes later, scoring from close range after a skillful combination between Aoi Tanaka and Keito Nakamura.
Moments later, Japan almost scored again, but only a desperate clearance from Dylan Bron on the goal line prevented the Asian giants from scoring a second goal.
Tunisian goalkeeper Aymen Damen also had extra time and unfortunately had to take a shot just short of crossing the goal line.
However, Japan finally added another point in the 31st minute, with striker Ueda taking advantage of the hesitant Tunisian defense to rush forward and fire a low shot from the edge of the area into the bottom corner of the goal.
The rout continued in the second half, with Junya Ito calmly scoring a goal after receiving a wonderful through ball in the 69th minute, and Ueda scoring again with a looping header in the 83rd minute.
