The Netherlands beat Tunisia to top Group F as Japan and Sweden reached elimination

The Netherlands secured top spot in Group F with a comfortable 3-1 win over Tunisia, while Japan and Sweden also booked their place in the FIFA World Cup Round of 32 after sharing a 1-1 draw on Thursday.

The Dutch finished the group stage unbeaten with seven points and will face Morocco in the round of 32 on Monday in Monterrey. Japan finished second with five points and will face five-time champions Brazil, while Sweden advanced as one of the top eight teams in the tournament in third place after collecting four points. Tunisia advanced without a point.

The Netherlands got off to a sensational start in Kansas City, taking control of the contest within seven minutes.

Tunisia vs Netherlands, FIFA World Cup: Highlights

Tunisia captain Ellyes Skhiri inadvertently turned Denzel Dumfries’ cross into his own net in the third minute to give the Oranje the lead. Four minutes later, Brian Brobbey doubled the advantage after Virgil van Dijk flicked on Tijjani Reijnders’ free-kick to allow the striker to finish from close range for his third goal of the tournament.

Tunisia, who were sent off before kick-off, produced a fighting performance after the break to pull one back in the 54th minute. Hazem Mastouri rose highest to head Hannibal Mejbri’s corner into the bottom corner for only Tunisia’s second goal of the tournament.

However, the Dutch quickly restored their two-goal cushion. Jan Paul van Hecke headed home another excellent Reijnders corner in the 62nd minute to score his first World Cup goal and put the result beyond doubt.

Bart Verbruggen made three saves for the Netherlands, while Aymen Dahmen kept the score decent with four stops. Tunisia finished the tournament conceding 12 goals and scoring only twice.

JAPAN AND SWEDEN PROCEDURE

Japan and Sweden played out a 1-1 draw in Arlington, with both teams doing enough to qualify for the knockout stages.

The first half offered several clear-cut chances before Japan increased the tempo after the restart. Their breakthrough came in the 56th minute when Ritsu Doan exchanged passes with Ayas Ueda before threading a perfectly balanced pass to Daizen Maeda who calmly slotted past Jacob Widell Zetterstrom.

Sweden responded within six minutes through Anthony Elango. The winger cut inside from the left and headed into the far corner past Zion Suzuki to level the scores.

The Swedes pushed hard for a winner in the closing stages, but Suzuki made two excellent saves to deny Alexander Isak, including a stoppage-time header that he tipped onto the crossbar.

“The whole game I felt like I wanted to do something today,” Elanga said.

“I’m happy that I scored. Of course I wanted to win, but in the end everyone was shouting that we need a point. We’re finishing and now we have to play even better in the next game.”

The draw confirmed Japan’s second place behind the Netherlands, while Sweden’s four points were enough to secure one of the best third-place qualifiers for the tournament.

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Issued by:

Saurabh Kumar

Published on:

Jun 26, 2026 07:38 IST