Japan records largest-ever World Cup victory with 4-0 win over Tunisia, eliminates North Africans early

Early blow as Japan take the lead

Japan needed only 240 seconds to find the net. Keito Nakamura drove a sharp pass into the penalty area and the former Eintracht Frankfurt Bundesliga professional Kamada stabbed the ball home from close range. Almost immediately, Dylan Bronn had to scramble the ball off the line to keep the deficit at one, and goalkeeper Aymen Dahmen produced a brilliant reflex save in the tenth minute to deny what looked like a certain second.

The Samurai Blue continued to control the contest. They hit Tunisia on the counter, they pressed high up the pitch, and they forced the African side into errors. On the Tunisian side, only a single chance of any note could be identified in the first half, a Hannibal Mejbri effort in the third minute. Tunisia did not manage a single shot on target before the break.

Hajime Moriyasu's team had promised a "match worthy of the World Cup" before kick-off. They delivered on that promise. After a brief lull in play, including the mandatory cooling break, Ueda, the Feyenoord Rotterdam striker, received the ball on the right edge of the penalty area and struck a low, bouncing shot into the corner of Dahmen's net to make it 2-0 in the 31st minute.

Renard's touchline frustration

Renard, who had been watching from the touchline in a white shirt with his sleeves rolled up, attempted to make his presence felt. He shouted instructions, he gestured, he cajoled. But Tunisia, who had also made three changes to the side that lost so heavily to Sweden, were never close enough to their opponents, never disciplined enough in their pressing, and never dangerous enough going forward.

Japan began the second half as they had ended the first. Ao Tanaka fired a shot narrowly wide within three minutes of the restart, before the Tunisian bench briefly thought they might have a route back into the match when Sebastian Tounekti got on the ball inside the Japanese box but could not bring it under control. It was a fleeting moment.

The decisive third goal arrived in the 69th minute, the product of a flowing Japanese move. Ueda, who had been a constant threat all evening, laid the ball off neatly, and Ito, one of Japan's most inventive players, slotted the ball home with composure from close range. The contest was over with more than twenty minutes still to play.

Ueda seals a record-breaking night

Ueda then put the seal on a record-breaking night. From a wide free kick, he rose highest in the box and executed a delicate, lobbed header over Dahmen to complete his brace and make it 4-0 in the 83rd minute. The previous largest Japanese victory at a World Cup had been a 3-1 win over Denmark; this surpassed it emphatically.

The result leaves Japan with four points from two matches in Group F, after they had drawn their opener against the Netherlands 2-2. A draw against Sweden on Thursday will almost certainly be enough to send them through to the knockout stage. Tunisia, on the other hand, are out with a match to spare, regardless of what happens when they face the Dutch in the early hours of Friday morning (Central European Time).

For Renard, the loss confirmed the suspicion that no quick fix was available. He had said before the match that he had "not hesitated for a second" when the Tunisian federation contacted him, and he had insisted that he was "not a magician". The performance, and the result, proved his point rather more emphatically than he would have liked.

Group F picture

"Wir sind auf eine Mannschaft getroffen, die uns deutlich überlegen war", the visibly disappointed Frenchman said afterwards. "Für das dritte Spiel brauchen wir nun ein bisschen Stolz, um es so gut wie möglich zu bestreiten." The third game, against the Netherlands, is now a dead rubber, but Renard has asked his players to show some pride in the jersey for one last time.

Tunisia did, briefly, hold their own a little better after the third goal went in, but Ueda's fourth of the night killed off any hope of a reprieve. The Tunisian players trudged off at the final whistle knowing that their tournament was over, while the Japanese supporters in Monterrey celebrated a win that will live long in the memory of the country's football fans. Group F concludes on Thursday, when Japan face Sweden and Tunisia take on the Netherlands.

Moriyasu's attacking depth on display

Ueda's brace, his first goals of the tournament, also served as a reminder of the depth in Moriyasu's squad. The Feyenoord striker, who has a contract at the Dutch club until 2028, has now scored 14 goals for his country, and his movement, hold-up play and finishing were exemplary throughout. Kamada, deployed in a more advanced role than usual, was similarly impressive, dictating play and linking midfield and attack with intelligence and energy.

Ito, who plays his club football for Stade Reims in France and has been linked with a move away this summer, provided the assist for the third goal and scored the fourth with a composed finish. The trio, along with the rest of the Japanese side, demonstrated why their coach had promised a match "worthy of the World Cup" and then delivered on the promise. The 1,000th match in World Cup history will be remembered, in the end, as a night on which Japan announced themselves as genuine contenders to go deep into this tournament.