Ueda stars as Japan thrash pitiful Tunisia to move joint-top of Group F

Japan made a fast start as a wonderful sweeping move in the fourth minute resulted in the opening goal, capitalising on Tunisia’s failure to clear Keito Nakamura’s low cross, allowing Daichi Kamada to bundle home through a crowd of players.

That preceded a period of incessant attacking in which Tunisia keeper Aymen Dahmen somehow managed to claw Ayase Ueda’s shot off the line. By the time the first hydration break came around, Tunisia had just Omar Rekik’s solitary touch in the Japanese penalty area to show for their meagre efforts. 

It was only a matter of time before Japan extended their lead, and sure enough, Ueda’s 31st-minute shot across Dahmen from the edge of the area nestled in the bottom corner and underscored their dominance.

The remainder of the first half saw more of the same, with Japan having the lion’s share of possession, and Tunisia unable to get a foothold in a match that already appeared to be beyond them as the half-time whistle sounded.

Ao Tanaka’s long-range effort at the start of the second 45’ suggested more of the same, though Hannibal Mejbri came a whisker away from giving Tunisia a lifeline.

It still wasn’t enough for new manager Herve Renard, who was showing more enthusiasm on the sidelines than his team was on the pitch. A hopeful ball upfield on the hour mark to no one in particular from Ali Abdi rather summed up the extent of Tunisia’s lack of effort.

The game was over as a contest with just over 20 minutes to play, as a simple ball into Junya Ito saw him outmuscle Mohamed Amine Ben Hmida and slide the ball under the advancing Dahmen for Japan’s third.

With the pattern of the game remaining unchanged thereafter, it was little surprise when Ueda bagged his second - the first time a Japanese player has done so in a single WC match - with a looping header that somehow evaded three Tunisia players on the line.

The result of the 1000th WC match sees Tunisia’s poor recent record extend to just one win in nine matches (D2, L6), whilst Japan have now won six of the previous seven head-to-heads, and will guarantee automatic qualification for the Round of 32 if they can get at least a point in their final group game against Sweden.