The Carthage Eagles' campaign came to an early end on Saturday after a heavy defeat to Japan at Estadio Monterrey Guadalupe in Mexico in their second Group F match.
The result saw the Carthage Eagles suffer a second successive defeat in the tournament, and confirmed their elimination from the global showpiece with one group match still to play.
Tunisia had lost the opener 5-1 against Sweden, the outcome that led to the sacking of coach Sabri Lamouchi and the appointment of Herve Renard ahead of the clash with Japan.
Daichi Kamada scored the opener for Japan after finishing a cross from Keito Nakamura. Kamada’s opener was his second of the tournament and the fastest goal that Japan have scored at a World Cup.
The previous quickest goal was by Shinji Kagawa in 2018 against Colombia when he scored in the sixth minute.
Ayase Ueda made it 2-0 for Japan, Junya Ito slotted home the third midway through the second half, before Ueda grabbed a second late on to complete the comfortable victory.
Speaking after the game, the French tactician showed frustration while commenting on his team’s disastrous performance against Japan.
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Tunisia failed to defend
“I had high hopes of quickly restoring the players’ lost confidence, and they certainly showed the will and desire to do better,” said Renard.
“However, we were severely punished in the opening minutes of the match by conceding goals, and in the second half, we failed to adequately defend against Japan’s fast-paced attack.”
Renard continued: “The Tunisian team’s overall performance in the first 20 minutes of the second half was somewhat acceptable, but overall, we never lived up to the standard expected in a major tournament like the World Cup.
“Japan is a great and highly developed team, and we shouldn’t look for any flimsy excuses to justify our defeat. Our performance today was not good at all, and we shouldn’t have played so poorly in a global event awaited by millions.”
He concluded: “I know African football well and have seen the Tunisian national team play on numerous occasions before. I firmly believe they have a clear problem in their defensive lines as well as in their collective play.
“I don’t want to discuss internal matters now. I should have been able to help the team better, and I take full responsibility for this match and its result.”
Tunisia to face Netherlands
Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu said after the game: “We prepared well for what we wanted to do and played aggressively.
"During our preparations, the coaching staff made it clear what we needed to do, and because of that the players were able to perform to their full potential.
“Many Japanese supporters came here to Monterrey, sang the national anthem with us and cheered us on loudly. Their support was a huge boost for us.”
With no points from their opening two matches, Tunisia are now mathematically eliminated from the competition.
Their final Group F fixture against the Netherlands will serve only as an opportunity to restore some pride and avoid leaving the tournament without a point.
