Tunisia: Tunisia Suffer Heavy Defeat to Japan and Bow Out of FIFA World Cup 2026

Tunisia's FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign came to an early end on Saturday after a heavy 4-0 defeat to Japan at Estadio Monterrey Guadalupe in Mexico in their second Group F match.

The result saw the Carthage Eagles suffer a second successive defeat and confirmed their elimination from the tournament with one group match still to play.

The encounter carried historic significance, marking the 1000th match in FIFA World Cup finals history since the competition began in 1930.

Follow us on WhatsApp | LinkedIn for the latest headlines

Tunisia went into the contest under immense pressure following their 5-1 opening defeat to Sweden, a result that led to the departure of coach Sabri Lamouchi and the appointment of Hervé Renard ahead of the clash with Japan.

Daichi Kamada gave the Asian side the lead after just four minutes, setting the tone for a dominant display. Japan continued to trouble the Tunisian defence with their pace and movement, and Ayase Ueda doubled the advantage in the 31st minute as the Samurai Blue went into the interval with a comfortable 2-0 lead.

As Tunisia pushed forward in search of a way back into the match, spaces began to open at the back. Junya Ito capitalised in the 69th minute to make it 3-0 before Ueda completed his brace seven minutes from time, sealing an emphatic victory for the Japanese.

With no points from their opening two matches, the Carthage Eagles are now mathematically eliminated from the competition.

Their final Group F fixture against the Netherlands will serve only as an opportunity to restore some pride and avoid leaving the tournament without a point.

AllAfrica publishes around 600 reports a day from more than 90 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.

AllAfrica is a voice of, by and about Africa - aggregating, producing and distributing 600 news and information items daily from over 90 African news organizations and our own reporters to an African and global public. We operate from Cape Town, Dakar, Abuja, Johannesburg, Nairobi and Washington DC.

Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox

By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy.

To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you.

There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.