Tunisia's Exit Marks World Cup's 1,000th Match Milestone

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Japanese national team achieved their biggest victory in their history of participating in the World Cup after demolishing Tunisia 4-0 in the second match of Group F of the 2026 World Cup at Monterrey Stadium, Guadalupe, Mexico, on Sunday morning, June 21, 2026.

This result also led to Tunisia being knocked out of the world's biggest football tournament. 

The Samurai Blue's winning goals were scored by Daichi Kamada in the fourth minute, Ayase Ueda in the 31st and 84th minutes, and Junya Ito in the 69th minute. This four-nil victory surpassed Japan's previous record of a two-goal difference in the World Cup.

As reported by ESPN, this match holds special significance as it marked the 1,000th match in the history of the World Cup since its conception in 1930. On this historic stage, Japan demonstrated a performance that strengthens their ambition to one day become world champions.

From the beginning of the match, Japan displayed dominance despite the absence of the injured Takefusa Kubo. The team under Hajime Moriyasu immediately pressed their opponents and only took four minutes to take the lead.

The first goal came through Daichi Kamada, who pounced on a cross from Keito Nakamura. Interestingly, similar to when they faced the Netherlands in the previous match, Kamada again scored a goal that was not entirely perfect. The ball hit his heel before entering Tunisia's goal.

Japan could have extended their lead earlier. However, Dylan Bronn made a crucial interception to thwart Kamada's golden opportunity. In addition, Aymen Dahmen made a brilliant save to deflect Takehiro Tomiyasu's header, which nearly crossed the goal line.

Ayase Ueda was impressive as the spearhead. The Feyenoord striker was not only a target for attacks, but also actively helped build the game and led the pressure from the front line. His contribution resulted in the second goal in the 31st minute. Ueda received the ball from Ko Itakura in the middle of the field, dribbled it towards the penalty box, and then released a powerful and accurate shot that Dahmen could not stop. Japan ended the first half with a 2-0 lead.

Entering the second half, Tunisia's coach Herve Renard tried to change the situation by introducing Amine Ben Hmida and Ismael Gharbi to replace Dylan Bronn and Elias Saad. This substitution allowed Tunisia to have more ball possession, but they failed to create any threats.

On the contrary, Japan continued to play aggressively. In the 69th minute, Ueda once again demonstrated his quality by sending a clever through ball to Junya Ito. The 33-year-old winger escaped his marker before defeating Dahmen to score his first goal in the 2026 World Cup, also marking his 16th goal in 71 appearances for Japan.

Despite already leading by three goals, Japan did not ease up on their attack. Moriyasu made several player substitutions, but the intensity of their game remained high. The fourth goal was eventually scored six minutes before the end of the match. Ueda met Kaishu Sano's cross with a well-directed header that eluded two Tunisian defenders before finding the corner of the net.

This goal completed the outstanding performance of the 27-year-old striker, who scored two goals and provided one assist. Since making his international debut in June 2019, Ueda has now collected 18 goals and four assists in 41 appearances for the Japanese national team.

This victory propelled Japan to second place in Group F with four points. They are only behind the Netherlands in goal difference, which on the same day defeated Sweden 5-1. Meanwhile, Tunisia is confirmed to be eliminated from the 2026 World Cup, following in the footsteps of Turkey and Haiti, who had previously lost their chance to advance to the knockout stages.

Japan is now on a very good path to the round of 32. A draw against Sweden in the final match of Group F at Dallas Stadium, next Friday, is enough to secure their progress to the next stage.

Read: Tunisia vs Japan World Cup Lineups: Ao Tanaka Replaces Injured Takefusa Kubo

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