Tunisia’s wretched 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign came to a humiliating end in Monterrey on Sunday, as Japan thrashed the Eagles of Carthage 4-0 to eliminate the North Africans and write their own piece of history in the process.
It was a chastening baptism of fire for Coach Hervé Renard, who had been hastily appointed to lead the Tunisians, following the sacking of Sabri Lamouchi after the catastrophic 5-1 opening defeat to Sweden. becoming one of the few coaches in World Cup history to take charge of a side mid-tournament.
The hope was that the Frenchman, whose record on the continent includes World Cup runs with Morocco and Saudi Arabia, could steady the ship. Instead, Tunisia shipped four without reply, raising serious questions about whether any coaching change could have salvaged a campaign that was effectively derailed in the opening match.
However, the Blue Samurai were far too strong in their tactical discipline and combination play, exploiting the half spaces in Tunisia’s defensive third with relentless fluidity.
Japan also became the first AFC team in history to score four goals in a World Cup game, earning their largest-ever margin of victory at the tournament.
The tone was set almost immediately. Keito Nakamura danced into the box and squared across the face of goal where Daichi Kamada prodded home in the fourth minute — Japan’s quickest-ever goal at a World Cup. Tunisia, already reeling from their 5-1 humbling by Sweden in the opener, offered little in response.
Goalkeeper Maher Dahmen brilliantly clawed Takehiro Tomiyasu’s close-range effort off the line, but could do nothing about Ayase Ueda’s exquisite 18-yard strike, which nestled in the bottom-left corner in the 31st minute to double the lead.
Lined up in a 3-4-2-1 formation under new manager Hervé Renard, Tunisia looked to get something going but Japan were far too strong in their tactical discipline and combination play, exploiting the half spaces in Tunisia’s defensive third with relentless fluidity.
Junya Ito rolled a third past Dahmen in the 69th minute, before Ueda completed his brace with a looped header from Kaishu Sano’s delivery, seven minutes from time.
The statistics told a brutal story. Tunisia registered just two shots across the entire 90 minutes — reflected in an xG of 0.05 — while Japan’s 11 attempts, five on target, produced an xG of 2.07.
The fixture carried extra significance beyond the result, it was the 1,000th match played at the FIFA World Cup, a milestone occasion that Japan marked in the most emphatic fashion possible.
For Tunisia, the campaign is over with a match to spare. They conceded nine goals in two games without a single win, ending as one of the heaviest-beaten sides of the group stage. Renard, whose record on the continent includes a World Cup group stage exit with Zambia, Morocco and now Tunisia, will face searching questions about both tactics and preparation.
Japan, meanwhile, moved level with the Netherlands at the top of Group F on four points, a position that puts them in strong contention for a place in the knockout stages ahead of their final group fixture.
