Tunisia have become the first African nation to be knocked out of the 2026 World Cup after suffering a crushing 4-0 defeat to Japan on Saturday in Monterrey, Mexico. The result, coming just days after a 5-1 opening loss to Sweden, leaves Tunisia with nine goals conceded across two Group F matches — a tally that mathematically eliminates them regardless of the outcome of their final group game against the Netherlands.

Japan made their intentions clear almost immediately, with Daichi Kamada prodding home a backheel finish inside four minutes. Ayase Ueda doubled the lead with a well-struck effort from around 17 metres before half-time, and the second half brought further goals from Junya Ito and a second from Ueda — who became the first Japanese player to score twice in a single World Cup match. The victory was also historic for Japan more broadly: it marked the first time the Samurai Blue, who made their World Cup debut in 1998, had scored four goals in a single tournament game. Remarkably, the match was also the 1,000th in World Cup history. Throughout the contest, Tunisia failed to register a single shot on target.

The defeat deepens a crisis that began before kick-off. Following the heavy loss to Sweden in the opening match, Tunisia dismissed coach Sabri Lamouchi and hastily appointed French manager Hervé Renard — a well-known figure in African football — ahead of the Japan clash. The emergency switch brought no improvement, and Renard himself acknowledged the scoreline reflected the true gap between the two sides.