RIYADH: The 1,000th match in FIFA World Cup history — at Estadio BBVA in Guadalupe, Monterrey — brought Tunisia and Japan together in a meeting that carried major consequences for both teams.
Japan needed a convincing victory to keep pace with the Netherlands, who had thrashed Sweden 5-1 earlier in the day. For Tunisia, defeat would bring their hopes of reaching the Round of 32 to an end.
Unfortunately for the Eagles of Carthage, Japan cruised to a 4-0 victory behind a starring display from striker Ayase Ueda, who scored twice and created another goal. Tunisia, meanwhile, bowed out of knockout-stage contention in disappointing fashion, managing just two shots during the 90 minutes.
This was Tunisia’s first match under Herve Renard, who was swiftly brought in to replace Sabri Lamouchi after their 5-1 defeat to Sweden in their opening game.
Renard made three changes to the starting line-up. Mouhib Chamakh in goal replaced by Aymen Dahmen after the former’s lackluster showing against Sweden. The other two changes relegated Rani Khedira and Mohamed Amine Ben Hmida relegated to the bench, with Dylan Bronn and Sebastian Tounekti taking their places.
Tunisia’s approach, however, differed only slightly from their previous outing. The back five remained, but Tounekti led the line as a lone striker, while Hannibal Mejbri and Elias Saad occupied the wide positions.
A brave curling effort from Hannibal whistled over the bar set the tone as early as the third minute, but it was Tunisia’s only sight of goal for the remainder of the first half.
Just a minute later, they found themselves behind. A quick Japanese attack found Ao Tanaka between the lines, with the midfielder releasing Keito Nakamura near the byline before a low cross deflected off Daichi Kamada and into the net.
Japan immediately pushed for a second, with Ayase Ueda becoming the focal point of their attacks.
In the eighth minute, he fought off Montassar Talbi to win a long ball before carrying it effortlessly into the penalty area and squaring across goal, but Bronn slid in to put the ball out for a corner.
Japan were, quite literally, millimetres away from doubling their advantage from that corner. Ueda stabbed the ball toward goal and it ricocheted into the path of Dahmen. The goalkeeper clawed it off the line before kicking away the rebound, with goal-line technology later confirming, by the narrowest of margins, that the ball had not crossed.
Ueda would get his goal eventually. Shortly after the hydration break, another of Japan’s trademark line-breaking passes through the centre found the striker just outside Tunisia’s area with only Bronn standing in his way. Ueda assessed his options before firing into the far corner, leaving Dahmen with no chance.
On the touchline, Renard was visibly frustrated. Against Sweden, Tunisia had at least managed to create chances and find the net in the first half. Against the Samurai Blue, however, the Eagles of Carthage were being comprehensively outplayed and elimination was beginning to look inevitable.
The Frenchman responded with a host of changes after the break, introducing Mohamed Amine Ben Hmida and Ismael Gharbi at half-time before bringing on Firas Chaouat shortly after the hour mark.
Aside from a half-chance in the 49th minute, and with Japan noticeably less aggressive than they had been before the interval, the changes still failed to have the desired impact.
Japan effectively sealed the result moments before the second hydration break. Tanaka picked out Ueda between the lines from deep, and the striker produced a perfectly weighted flick into the path of Junya Ito, who held off Ben Hmida before finishing beyond Dahmen to make it 3-0.
Ueda added his second of the night and Japan’s fourth in the 84th minute, rising at the far post to meet a Kaishu Sano cross. Anis Slimane attempted to clear the header off the line, but failed to make contact as the ball drifted into the net.
With this defeat, Tunisia’s hopes of reaching the Round of 32 are officially over. The Eagles of Carthage become the third team to be eliminated from the tournament, after Haiti and Turkiye.
One match remains, when Tunisia face the Netherlands at 2 a.m. KSA time on June 26.
