The Japanese national football team crushed Tunisia 4-0 and gained a strong lead in qualifying for the “32” of the World Cup, from the 6th group of the competition.

    The match, which took place at the Monterrey Stadium in Mexico, holds a special place in the annals of the World Cup, as it was the 1,000th match played in the final phase of the world’s premier football tournament.

    From the start of the match, the Asians imposed their pace and even scored in just the 4th minute with Kamada opening the score. Despite the slight reaction of the Africans, Hajime Moriyasu’s players faithfully followed their coach’s plan and with highly tactical and concentrated football, they left no room for the Tunisians.

    The match was essentially “over” in the 31st minute, when Ueda doubled the Japanese’s lead and both teams went to the locker room with that score.

    In the second 45 minutes, Hervé Renard’s players failed to achieve anything substantial on the pitch and, as a result of time, it seemed that they had accepted defeat and exclusion from the 2026 World Cup. For their part, the Japanese “slowed down”, but did not stop playing modern and, above all, fully controlled football, resulting in them scoring twice more (69′ Ito, 83′ Ueda) and comfortably reaching victory, which gives them an advantage for a place in the “32” of the competition.

    Referee: I. Kovacs (Romania)
    Yellows :
    Reds :
    Lineups:

    TUNISIA (Herve Renard): Dahmen, Abdi (90`+1` Assouri), Talbi, Rekic, Bron (46` Hamida), Valery, Medjbri, Skiri (90`+1` Khedira), Slimane, Tunekti (65` Chaouat), Saad (46` Garbi).

    JAPAN (Hajime Moriyasu): Suzuki, Ikatura, Hiroki Ito, Tomiyasu (79` Seko), Tanaka, Doan (74` Sukawara), Nakamura (79` Wito Suzuki), Yunia Ito, Kamada (74` J. Suzuki), Sano, Ueda (84` Goto).