1 hour ago
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Key events
79 mins: More changes for Japan with Seko and Y Suzuki coming on for Tomiyasu and Nakamura.
77 mins: Ito chases an overhit ball in the right channel, Ben Hmida has to slide across and concede the corner. Japan’s industry and commitment is a thing to behold. The corner is not much chop though and Tunisia head it away.
75 mins: Tunisia win a corner on the right, which quickly becomes two corners after a short corner is blocked. The second ball is curled across, kept in the area well by Rekik, allowing Gharbi a shooting opportunity that is charged down by Japan, prompting high fives and goal-like celebrations.
71 mins: Speaking of those changes for Japan, Doan makes way for Sugawara, and Kamada for Suzuki.
Japan will enjoy their hydration break, safe in the knowledge they have done everything asked of them this evening. Expect Moriyasu to ring the changes for the final quarter.
Japan nail the slow-slow-quick. After a spell of calm possession across defence the ball is fizzed at speed to the feet of Ueda dropping into the No 10 position and he executes a superb one-touch flick around the corner that beats the offside trap and allows Ito to spring onto it, hold off Rekik, and roll the ball confidently under the helpless goalkeeper.
GOAL! Tunisia 0-3 Japan (Ito, 69)
As the match begins to drift, Ito makes it three.
66 mins: Tunisia are defending in a formation that seems to suggest they’re more focussed on retaining this scoreline than they are gambling to get back into the game. It means Japan have to move the ball more conservatively with less space than was available in the opening half.
65 mins: Valery goes for the long throw from the right again but Japan are strong in the air.
64 mins: Tunisia go to their bench again: Chaouat for Tounekti.
63 mins: Ayase wins a corner with a deflected effort after lovely interplay in the final third. Uade created space with a lovely stepover. Ito sends the ball into the box this time but it’s easily headed clear.
62 mins: Abdi does well in defence, then sets his side going forward with some neat skill to evade Ito then look long for Gharbi. Japan deal with it.
61 mins: Tunisia get some time on the ball but Japan are so busy out of possession, Tanaka’s interception seems inevitable.
59 mins: The set piece is taken short then the angled delivery is clubbed straight into the advancing Tunisian defender. Tunisia break at speed and then want a penalty for handball against Ito for sliding in and collecting the ball on the ground, but there’s nothing doing.
58 mins: Japan are patient though, happy to execute technical triangle passing patterns down the right and earn a corner.
57 mins: Tunisia’s defensive shape is much better this half, tracking runners, denying Japan easy passing lanes.
55 mins: Hannibal has been a more visible presence this half, dropping deeper to show for the ball and moving forward with intent. His perceived pressure off the ball forces another Japanese error on their right as this game struggles to main the quality of the opening half.
54 mins: Skhiri is caught very late and awkwardly. Doan is lucky to avoid a caution.
52 mins: Japanese fans are in full voice in Monterrey, but there team has hit a brief sticky patch. Other than the Hannibal chance there have been poor turnovers on each flank, allowing their opponents to gain a foothold in the game.
50 mins: Hannibal has a chance! Tunisia’s first opening of the night is well worked. Gharbi instigates it as the ball is played through the lines, out to the right. The cross is low and accurate and the onrushing Burnley midfielder should sidefoot it into the net but he fails to make contact.
48 mins: It’s a change of personnel, nit a change of structure with Tunisia still operating with a 5-3-2 and Japan a 3-4-3. One of those midfield four, Tanaka, drags a shot wide from 25m.
46 mins: Ben Hmida is straight into the action with a sliding tackle on the left as Japan continue where they left off.
The teams are back out for the second half.
Ben Hmida is coming on for Bronn and Gharbi replaces Saad for Tunisia.
Time for some half-time reading, and how could we go past a byline that reads: Sid Lowe in Chattanooga?
Cape Verde are not the only ones to have kept Spain out at this World Cup. Turns out it was even harder to get past security on the gate of the team hotel in downtown Chattanooga. Two days after the 0-0 draw in their opener, Luis de la Fuente gave his players the day off, a chance to clear their heads and leave the disappointment behind. Lamine Yamal went to Nashville, Dani Olmo headed for Hamilton Place mall and Rodri strolled the Tennessee river with his partner. When Borja Iglesias got back before the 9pm curfew, they didn’t recognise him and wouldn’t let him in.
“It’s a bit of a shame that the games in Monterrey so far have been night game, the view of the Cerra de La Silla mountain is breathtaking,” emails Evan Garcia.
“Of course the Azteca needs no introduction but I’m hoping that the rest of the world is noting the two other great stadiums in Mexico and maybe tries paying attention to Liga MX.”
Don’t you mean three great stadiums Evan? I reckon Guadalajara’s volcano-inspired arena is a beauty too.
Half-time: Tunisia 0-2 Japan
Japan looked very very good in that half and are well worth their lead. Tunisia are flattered by their combined 1-7 scoreline after three halves of World Cup action.
45+4 mins: In the shadow of half-time Ben Slimane can launch a deep free-kick into the box. A Tunisian teammate wins the resulting header but it dribbles harmlessly into Suzuki’s gloves.
45+2 mins: Why don’t you throw one over Valery? He gives it a mighty hurl into the box but Japan head the first effort away then Hannibal is penalised for a foul on Suzuki.
45+1 mins: There are blue jerseys everywhere, perpetual motion in defence and attack. Tunisia have a decent opportunity to break but as soon as the ball is slowed down to allow teammates to join in Japan snap into the tackle then bully their way to the second ball.
45 mins: Ito dinks over a dangerous free-kick that Dahmen just about deals with. Tunisia then benefit from the bounce of the ball.
44 mins: Lovely interplay from Nakamura and Kamada on the left. The ball is eventually given away but that immediately prompts the former to dispossess Valery and send Tunisia heading backwards.
42 mins: Tunisia are just getting no time on the ball. Sano and Kamada are winning every 50:50, intercepting at will, and the structure off the ball is blocking every passing lane.
40 mins: Doan now prospers down the right. He lays the ball back for a deep cross to Kamada at the far post. He smartly recycles possession and Japan come back out, but the referee gives Tunisia a break with a soft free-kick.
38 mins: Almost! Ito typifies Japan’s slow-slow-quick strategy with a blistering dart in off the right wing that carves past three Tunisian defenders and into the penalty area at serious speed. Too fast perhaps, because he loses his balance and the ball runs behind for a goal kick when something magical looked in the making.
36 mins: Japan are a neat contrast to some of the South and Central American sides we’ve seen this World Cup. They are eager to get on the ball and stroke it around their back three to control the tempo and territory, but there is a purposefulness to it that has been absent in so many of their rivals. It contains the same game management but with a real sense of a cocked fist ready to strike.
34 mins: Japan, like group rivals the Netherlands earlier today, are announcing themselves as contenders capable of going a long way into this draw.
33 mins: Tunisia are heading out of the 2026 World Cup as things stand.
Tunisia step off Ueda as he advances towards the right corner of the box. They regret it when the Feyenoord striker unleashes a powerful low drive that goes through Talbi’s legs and arrows into the far corner of Dahmen’s net. Stunning finish.
GOAL! Tunisia 0-2 Japan (Ueda, 31)
Japan make it two, and it’s no less than they deserve.
28 mins: Renard continues to strain his neck and bellow at the absolute top of his voice. It’s like that time Alan Partridge was unheard in a car park. His team are putting in a shift but they are a step down in quality from Japan.
So desperate for content you need your eyeballs occupying for the two minutes the ads are on? How about a Team of the Tournament (minus the superstars) argument starter.
23 mins: Japan slow the tempo down, which has been pretty lively, working the slow-slow quick routine to try and exploit room down the right. Tunisia are alive to it and are rewarded with a quick drink and a telling off from the substitute teacher.
21 mins: Japan have not fashioned any further shots on goal in the past ten minutes but have threatened with a couple of balls over the top, some broken play in midfield, and strategic build-up down the left. They are a multiple threat
20 mins: Renard is absolutely screaming his lungs out on the touchline, urging his team to follow his instructions. He looks like a senior officer from House Lannister demanding his troops lay down their lives for Casterly Rock.
19 mins: The Japanese FA have been building towards this since the creation of the J-League and hosting of the 2002 World Cup. It is a testament to bold ambition and strategic organisation. And it’s clearly no accident because the Japanese women’s team also play like this.
18 mins: In Moriyasu’s 3-4-3 Japan have the ability to appear to both pack the midfield and operate with constant width. With their technical ability and speed of ball movement it makes for a lovely watch.
16 mins: Saad curls over an outswinger but Itakura gets his head to it first, then attacks the second ball and Japan can break at speed. Kamada has options ahead of him but Ben Slimane does superbly to stop the move in its tracks.
14 mins: Tunisia have regrouped after a ten minute Japanese siege but the Samurai Blue are so busy in defence the North Africans are allowed no time on the ball. They do win a corner on the right though. They will need to make the most of set pieces.
13 mins: I’m not a fan of technology in football, but that is a great example of how it can be used effectively. I would have given that in real time. Geoff Hurst would have celebrappealed without even turning to look at the referee.
12 mins: Oh wow, that is absurd. Replays show the ball was kept out by the width of a bee’s wing. That would have made a grand slam crowd “oooh” when Hawkeye reveals a tennis ball just clipping the outside edge of the line.
10 mins: SO CLOSE TO TWO AGAIN! The corner comes across, Dahmen flaps it away from the danger zone but not completely clear. Tomiyasu drills it back in, it’s deflected towards goal and looks like it may have crossed the line, only for Dahmen to somehow claw it back with an absolutely heroic piece of goalkeepeing. That is as close as they come without being awarded.
9 mins: SO CLOSE TO TWO! Suzuki goes long, Talbi lets it bounce, Ueda does superbly to win possession and square across the six yard box but Bronn does superbly to slide in, avoid the own goal, and deflect the ball away for a corner.
8 mins: This is energetic and direct from Japan, they are leaving nothing to chance following the Netherlands’ hammering of Sweden earlier today.
Japan's Takehiro Tomiyasu, right, and Tunisia's Sebastian Tounekti battle for the ball. Photograph: Dolores Ochoa/AP
6 mins: Ueda is almost in immediately afterwards but he can’t find the target with a half-chance.
