DUBAI: The Netherlands marched into the 2026 World Cup Round of 32 as Group F winners after a 3-1 win over a Tunisian side that heads home from the tournament with no points, 12 goals conceded and only two scored.
The sacking of coach Sabri Lamouchi, replaced by former Saudi Arabia coach Herve Renard, after their opening game, a 5-1 loss to Sweden, did little to change Tunisia’s fortunes.
A 4-0 defeat by Japan in game two, followed by tonight’s result at Kansas City Stadium left them bottom of the group and with little from their campaign they will look back on with any degree of satisfaction.
The other two teams in the group, Japan and Sweden, progressed to the knockout stages after finishing second and third, respectively, following a 1-1 draw in Dallas.
Tunisia might have grabbed a stunning lead inside the first two minutes of the game but Ismael Gharbi’s half volley failed to hit the target.
Moments later, disaster struck for Renard’s men when the Tunisian captain, Ellyes Skhiri, with Brian Brobbey lurking behind him, turned a fine cross by Donyell Malen from the right into his own net. It meant that Tunisia had conceded within the first seven minutes of all three games at the tournament.
Then, after exactly seven minutes, the Dutch doubled their lead when Brobbey struck from a Virgil van Dijk knockdown. It was the quickest that any team has built a two-goal lead at this World Cup so far.
Tunisia might have restored some semblance of respectability after 14 minutes but Anis Ben Slimane’s header was straight at Bart Verbruggen in the Dutch goal. For a brief spell, however, the North Africans suddenly found some space in the middle of the park to carry out a series of attacks but the final ball remained elusive.
With any sense of a competitive edge for Tunisia or jeopardy for the Netherlands all but eliminated from the contest by the early goals, the match settled into a pattern of Dutch possession and sporadic attempts on goal against a rearguard action by the Tunisians, who occasionally tried to counter on the break.
Five minutes from half time, Aymen Dahmen bravely saved at Cody Gakpo’s feet, and a Denzel Dumfries shot was easily gathered by the goalkeeper just before the break to keep the deficit at just two goals.
Dumfries was once again involved in a threat five minutes after the restart, only for his fiercely struck volley to be blocked by the Tunisian defense. Two minutes later, a fine break by Tunisia promised much but delivered only a corner. From that, however, an excellent header by Hazem Mastouri gave Tunisia their second, and last, goal of the tournament.
The Dutch, who had been coasting, were suddenly sweating; Japan took the lead over Sweden just two minutes later and one more goal would have seen them leapfrog the Netherlands at the top the group table.
This possibility was rendered purely academic when the Netherlands restored their two-goal cushion in the 62nd minute, courtesy of a Jan Paul van Hecke header from a corner.
A long-rage effort by Hannibal Mejbri, tipped over the bar by Verbruggen on 75 minutes, would be Tunisia’s last meaningful attacking play of the 2026 World Cup.
The Netherlands now face Morocco in the Round of 32 at Estadio Monterrey in Guadalupe on Tuesday. Japan will face Brazil on Monday, while Sweden must wait to discover who they will face.
