In a dominant Group F World Cup clash held in Monterrey, Mexico, Japan delivered a spectacular 4-0 victory over Tunisia on Wednesday, moving the Asian side within touching distance of a fourth consecutive knockout stage appearance and marking the biggest ever winning margin for the Samurai Blue in World Cup history.
Japan’s clinical attacking display leaves them level on four points with group leaders Netherlands after two matches, with the Dutch holding the top spot only on the tiebreaker of one additional total goal. For Tunisia, the defeat brings an early end to their World Cup campaign, making them the first team eliminated from this year’s tournament after a second underwhelming performance.
The writing was on the wall for Tunisia from the opening minutes of the tie. Crystal Palace midfielder Daichi Kamada opened the scoring in just the fourth minute, slotting home a simple tap-in from Keito Nakamura’s perfectly placed cross. This strike stands as the fastest goal Japan has ever scored in World Cup competition, and marked Kamada’s second of the tournament.
The 2-0 lead came in the 31st minute, when Feyenoord striker Ayase Ueda cut through Tunisia’s defense from the halfway line. What looked like a lost chance after Ueda chose to hold possession rather than pass to onrushing teammates turned into a moment of magic: the 27-year-old, who finished the 2023-24 Eredivisie season as top scorer with 24 goals, unleashed a well-placed angled strike from outside the box that nestled into the left corner of Tunisia’s net.
Japan extended their advantage in the 69th minute, when a clever flicked pass from Ueda put winger Junya Itō through on a one-on-one with Tunisia goalkeeper Aymen Dahmen. Itō kept his cool under pressure, slotting the ball past the keeper to put the Samurai Blue up 3-0.
Ueda capped off the dominant performance with his second of the night in the 83rd minute, a looping header that sailed over Dahmen and into the back of the net, closing out the 4-0 win. The four-goal haul is the highest number of goals Japan has ever put past an opponent in a single World Cup match.
The result leaves Japan guaranteed at worst a third-place finish in Group F, a position that can still be enough to advance to the knockout stage as one of the best third-placed teams across all groups. For Tunisia, the elimination comes just one match after the North African side made a major coaching change, hiring two-time Africa Cup of Nations-winning manager Hervé Renard following a humiliating 5-1 opening defeat to Sweden. Renard’s arrival failed to turn Tunisia’s fortunes around, however, as the side could not contain Japan’s pacey attacking unit and failed to register a single clear goalscoring chance throughout the 90 minutes.
Japan, who have not lost a 90-minute match to a European opponent since 2019, will face off against Sweden in Dallas on Thursday in their final group stage match. Tunisia will wrap up their tournament the same day, taking on the Netherlands in Kansas City.