Tunisia are out of the 2026 World Cup. A 4-0 defeat to Japan in Monterrey on Saturday, in the second round of Group 6 fixtures, confirmed their elimination before the final matchday, leaving them without a point and with no realistic route forward.
The match, which Al Bayan reported as the 1,000th game in World Cup finals history, was settled early. Daichi Kamada opened the scoring in the fourth minute, converting a Keito Nakamura pass from close range to give Japan the lead almost immediately. Ayase Ueda doubled the advantage in the 31st minute with a right-footed finish into the bottom-left corner following a quick transitional move, and Tunisia spent the rest of the half trying and failing to build any meaningful threat on the Japanese goal.
The second half followed the same pattern. Junya Ito made it 3-0 in the 69th minute from inside the area, set up by Ueda, who had been Tunisia’s primary tormentor throughout. Ueda then added the fourth in the 83rd minute with a header from a perfectly weighted cross, completing his brace and Japan’s most convincing result of the tournament.
For Tunisia, defeat was compounded by the wider group picture. Sweden, who beat them 5-1 in the opening round, also lost heavily on the same matchday, going down 5-1 to the Netherlands. That result moved the Netherlands level with Japan at the top of Group 6 on 4 points, with Sweden third on 3. Tunisia sit last with none.
The group concludes early Friday morning UAE time, with Tunisia facing the Netherlands and Japan taking on Sweden. The two matches will determine final standings and confirm which sides advance to the round of 32.
