Japan knock Tunisia out of WC 2026

The African side are eliminated from the tournament

MEXICO:

Japan marked the 1,000th game in the history of the World Cup with a 4-0 thrashing of Tunisia on Saturday, to close in on a place in the last 32.

Ayase Ueda scored twice while Daichi Kamada and Junya Ito were also on target as the Asian giantsjoined the Netherlands on four points at the top of Group F.

Tunisia, who were thumped 5-1 by Sweden in their first game of the tournament, have been eliminated from the tournament with one group match remaining.

The Blue Samurai, who held the Netherlands to a 2-2 draw in their Group F opener, were always in control against Tunisia at the Monterrey Stadium.

The result marked a losing start for new Tunisia manager Herve Renard, who was hastily appointed to take over the World Cup campaign after predecessor Sabri Lamouchi was sacked following the wake of the Sweden drubbing.

But Renard's team never looked like threatening a technically superior Japanese side that went quickly into their trademark smooth passing game.

Daichi Kamada opened the scoring after just four minutes, finishing from close range after deft interplay from Ao Tanaka and Keito Nakamura.

The Japanese almost scored again moments later, with only a desperate goal-line clearance from Dylan Bronn denying the Asian giants a second goal.

Tunisia goalkeeper Aymen Dahmen was also working overtime, and had to claw away a shot that went agonisingly short of crossing the goal line.

Japan, though, finally added to their tally in the 31st minute, with striker Ueda taking advantage of some hesitant Tunisian defending to surge forward and thunder a low shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the area.

The rout continued in the second half, with Junya Ito latching onto a brilliant through ball to calmly finish on 69 minutes before Ueda scored again with a looping header in the 83rd minute.

Moriyasu praises Kamada

Japancoach Hajime Moriyasu was delighted with the performance of his side after their 4-0 victory over Tunisiaon Saturday in Monterrey. Japan were dominant ?throughout despite the absence of injured playmaker Takefusa Kubo.

The victory took Japan one step closer to qualifying for the knockout rounds, while eliminating Tunisia.

"It was our second game of the World Cup, a match of high tension, and one that people all over the world were watching. I am very happy that we were able to secure a victory in such a game," he said.

"As a team, seeing players pick up injuries is, of course, highly regrettable and a painful blow. However, we have built this squad around the concept of whoever ?steps onto the pitch can win, and whoever partners up can function effectively."

"Daichi (Kamada) has mostly been deployed as a defensive midfielder recently, but considering our current team situation, we had him shift to the shadow striker position today. The idea was to bring out his strengths and have him control the team's offence and defence from that advanced position.

"Ko Itakura and Takehiro Tomiyasu, these two have also played central roles in our team-building process up until now. We have always viewed them as players capable of competing at the true World Cup standard." AFP/REUTERS