MUNDIAL·26

First Stage · Group F · Sunday, June 21 · Monterrey Stadium, Monterrey · 51,243 in the stands

kickoff 22:00 local · 25°C · 84% humidity · altitude 540 m

Tunisia

0:4

Japan

4′ Daichi KAMADA (pen)

31′ Ayase UEDA (pen)

69′ Junya ITO (pen)

83′ Ayase UEDA (pen)

tap a player for their match file

Tunisia3-4-2-1
Japan3-4-2-1
Aymen DAHMEN5.2Ali ABDI5.7Montassar TALBI6.1Omar REKIK6.2Dylan BRONN6.2Yan VALERY6.3Hannibal MEJBRI6.7Ellyes SKHIRI5.3Anis SLIMANE6.0Sebastian TOUNEKTI6.1Elias SAAD6.5Zion SUZUKI7.1Kou ITAKURA8.5Hiroki ITO7.0Takehiro TOMIYASU6.6Ao TANAKA6.6Ritsu DOAN6.7Keito NAKAMURA7.1Junya ITO7.4Daichi KAMADA7.8Kaishu SANO7.4Ayase UEDA9.3
from the bench

match pulse — xG per 5 minutes · goals · cards

45′90′TUNJPN

goals — hover the strip for every shot and card, with names

  • 4′Kamada0.73 xG
  • 31′Ueda0.03 xG
  • 69′Ito0.59 xG
  • 83′Ueda0.28 xG
TUN 0:0 JPN0'kickoff
3' Mejbri — xG 0.01 · Missed4' Kamada — xG 0.73 · Goal6' Ueda — xG 0.16 · Missed10' Ueda — xG 0.04 · Saved10' Tomiyasu — xG 0.19 · Missed31' Ueda — xG 0.03 · Goal48' Tanaka — xG 0.03 · Missed63' Ueda — xG 0.02 · Blocked66' Nakamura — xG 0.02 · Blocked69' Ito — xG 0.59 · Goal75' Gharbi — xG 0.03 · Blocked83' Ueda — xG 0.28 · Goal85' Ito — xG 0.05 · Blocked

▶ Watch every shot in 3D⟲ Replay the match

The xG race — cumulative expected goals, minute by minute

TUN 0:0 JPN
1.02.00′15′30′45′60′75′90′4' Kamada — GOAL31' Ueda — GOAL69' Ito — GOAL83' Ueda — GOAL0.042.14

On paper vs as played — formation sheet vs heatmap reality

TUN 3-4-2-1 attack →, ← JPN 3-4-2-1 attack. The teamsheet, as announced.

16Aymen DAHMENAymen DAHMEN2Ali ABDIAli ABDI3Montassar TALBIMontassar TALBI4Omar REKIKOmar REKIK6Dylan BRONNDylan BRONN20Yan VALERYYan VALERY10Hannibal MEJBRIHannibal MEJBRI17Ellyes SKHIRIEllyes SKHIRI25Anis SLIMANEAnis SLIMANE26Sebastian TOUNEKTISebastian TOUNEKTI8Elias SAADElias SAAD1Zion SUZUKIZion SUZUKI4Kou ITAKURAKou ITAKURA21Hiroki ITOHiroki ITO22Takehiro TOMIYASUTakehiro TOMIYASU7Ao TANAKAAo TANAKA10Ritsu DOANRitsu DOAN13Keito NAKAMURAKeito NAKAMURA14Junya ITOJunya ITO15Daichi KAMADADaichi KAMADA24Kaishu SANOKaishu SANO18Ayase UEDAAyase UEDA

The duel — team data, FIFA tracking included

36%
Possession
55%
0.02
Expected goals
1.36
40
Threat
60
2
Shots
10
0
On target
4
305
Passes completed
535
34
Forced turnovers
35
22.1s
Ball recovery time
13.7s
1.9
High-press phases
3.62
15
Fouls committed
8
1
Offsides
1
112 km
Distance covered
112 km
34.8 km/h
Top speed
33.6 km/h

Territory — where each team lived

Every player's heatmap, minutes-weighted and stacked per team. Tunisia attack →, ← Japan attack. Brighter is more presence; where the colors meet is the contested ground.

How it happened

  1. 4′Daichi KAMADA (Japan) scores!!
  2. 31′Ayase UEDA (Japan) scores!!
  3. ′Before the second half begins Mohamed Amine BEN HMIDA (in) comes off the bench to replace Dylan BRONN (out) (Tunisia)
  4. ′Before the second half begins Ismael GHARBI (in) comes off the bench to replace Elias SAAD (out) (Tunisia)
  5. 64′Firas CHAOUAT (in) comes off the bench to replace Sebastian TOUNEKTI (out) (Tunisia)
  6. 69′Junya ITO (Japan) scores!!
  7. 74′Yukinari SUGAWARA (in) comes off the bench to replace Ritsu DOAN (out) (Japan)
  8. 74′Junnosuke SUZUKI (in) comes off the bench to replace Daichi KAMADA (out) (Japan)
  9. 78′Yuito SUZUKI (in) comes off the bench to replace Keito NAKAMURA (out) (Japan)
  10. 78′Ayumu SEKO (in) comes off the bench to replace Takehiro TOMIYASU (out) (Japan)
  11. 83′Ayase UEDA (Japan) scores!!
  12. 84′Keisuke GOTO (in) comes off the bench to replace Ayase UEDA (out) (Japan)
  13. 90′Elias ACHOURI (in) comes off the bench to replace Ali ABDI (out) (Tunisia)
  14. 90′Rani KHEDIRA (in) comes off the bench to replace Ellyes SKHIRI (out) (Tunisia)

The morning-after column · AI-written from the match data

Japan's Press Dismantled Tunisia in Four Acts

Japan struck inside four minutes and never looked back, setting a tempo Tunisia couldn't sustain. The defining metric was intensity: Japan's 3.6 high-press phases overwhelmed Tunisia's fragile 1.9, creating a pace the North Africans simply couldn't absorb. By half-time, Japan led 2-0 with 55% possession against Tunisia's 36%; the visitors had mustered just two shots. The match's shape was irreversibly settled before the break.

Japan's dominance crystallised in the numbers. Their ball recovery time of 13.7 seconds against Tunisia's 22.1 gave them an eight-second edge that proved fatal in a game decided by tempo. Ayase Ueda (9.3 rating) and Ko Itakura (8.5) controlled midfield, with Daichi Kamada (7.8) providing rhythm. Tunisia mustered 0.02 expected goals across 90 minutes; Japan finished four, clinical conversions of their 1.36 xG advantage.

Japan's eight-second ball recovery advantage (13.7 to 22.1 seconds) translated into four goals and complete dismantling of Tunisia's Group F opener.

4′

Japan's early goal set an unrecoverable precedent—Tunisia chased shadows thereafter.

What Tunisia needed

Overmatched at every layer; Group F will demand sharper execution.

  • High-press disparity (1.9 vs 3.6 phases) meant no sustained offensive pressure; need chances created per match.
  • Ball recovery at 22.1 seconds left them perpetually chasing; eight-second gap to Japan proved fatal.
  • Zero on-target shots, 0.02 xG: didn't create or threaten—must add a playmaker who unpicks defences.

What Japan needed

Ruthless execution and pressing intelligence justified pre-tournament billing.

  • Press intensity at 3.6 phases dismantled Tunisia's rhythm; replicate this template against stronger sides.
  • Ball recovery in 13.7 seconds enabled control; maintain this eight-second edge via transition drills.
  • Survived early sloppiness (two big chances missed, 0.35 combined xG) but clinical finishing sealed it—don't expect that mercy twice.