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Tunisia v Japan: World Cup 2026 – live | World Cup 2026
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This is an insightful column on watching the World Cup through a coach’s eyes from the excellent Emma Hayes. The entry point is hydration breaks, but there’s more to it than just that.
I agree with Arsène Wenger; I want the ball in play more. I want goal-kicks taken quicker, I want throw-ins taken quicker. I want the ball in play for at least 60 minutes a game, so I like some of the new rule changes that have been introduced. The average ball-in-play time has been about 40 seconds down compared with 2022 at 57 minutes and 22 seconds, but when you factor in the hydration breaks and remove the time it takes for those breaks from the total match-time, the ball-in-play percentage has risen slightly.
There are already enough stoppages in games, so the last thing we want is more . But, for now, it’s there. On ITV, we used it by broadcasting tactical analysis, which was an idea of one of the producers and I felt I was doing what I do every day as coach; trying to simplify complex ideas in a concise way.
I realise an element of the apparent buffness is the way their sleeves have been stuffed with technology, reminiscent of Matthew McConaughey concealing a pack of smokes in his t-shirt in Dazed and Confused.
Match officials tonight are from Romania, led by 2025 Champions League final referee István Kovács. Sidenote: don’t all the refs look buff in their very smart Adidas kits.
As Dr. Jithin Yesudas Varghese informs me, this is the 1,000th match in World Cup history.
With the ever expanding format we’ll cross the 2,000 threshold in no time.
Conditions should be fine tonight with no wind or rain, and temperatures in the mid-20s. There was a risk of the match being affected by thunderstorms but that appears to have passed.
This evening’s match is taking place at the impressive Estadio BBVA, known for the duration of the World Cup as Monterrey Stadium. The 53,000 capacity arena is nicknamed the Steel Giant, and was opened in 2015.
It is famed for its view of Cerro de la Silla, a nearby mountain with a highest peak of almost 6,000 feet. The steep stands and proximity of seating to the pitch will help the atmosphere.
Tunisia have already tasted defeat here, losing 5-1 to Sweden in the opening round of matches.
Joe Pearson, it’s lovely to hear from you. “Fear not the time zones. World Cup die hards will always be there for you. Living in the Eastern Time Zone, I seem to recall getting up at four or so in the morning to watch matches from the South Korea edition. Admittedly much younger then, but I’ll be with you tonight as long as I can make it (Narrator: It won’t be long).”
You’re a trooper Joe. It’s appreciated.
“This match is mostly interesting from a coaching point of view for mine,” emails Stephen Hogg. “We have a really nice experiment to see what the value is of having a long-standing coach (Moriyasu), given that Hervé Renard has had about 30 seconds to do anything with his squad. Renard is Renard though, so he likely hasn’t been sitting still. Preparations on both sides for this one would be a bit unusual as a result.”
Renard was mightily unfortunate not to be at this World Cup to begin with after qualifying with Saudi Arabia. He took over from Roberto Mancini (who was doing a lousy job) during the group phase, and saw them over the line in the continental playoffs. His fortunate replacement Georgios Donis, is hardly Rinus Michels either.
Japan come into today’s game as clear favourites and ready to shake off the tag of popular nearly-men.
Japan won six out of six in the first round of qualifying and then seven out of 10 in the second, losing just once, a remarkable achievement given the distances involved and the huge variety of opponents and conditions. But being the best in Asia is no longer enough, and a run of six successive friendly wins since, including over England and Brazil, is arguably even more important than qualifying with three games to spare, for reasons of self-belief if nothing else.
Injuries have hit them hard. The captain Wataru Endo withdrew from the squad this week, while the loss of Kaoru Mitoma to a hamstring injury sustained playing for Brighton against Wolves in May is a major blow, particularly with Takumi Minamino rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament. It says much about the development of Japanese football, though, that their absences are not seen as terminal. That Minamino has travelled with the squad to offer moral support suggests their togetherness.
Japan XI
Changes for Japan too with Tomiyasu and Itakura stiffening the back three, and Ito and Tanaka coming into the front three. Kubo misses out through injury and the lively playmaker is a big loss to a side already missing Minamino and Mitoma.
Expect the same 3-4-3 structure that has served Moriyasu well in recent months as he has built Japan from a side capable of dominating Asia to one equipped to handle the rest of the world.
Japan (3-4-3) 1 Suzuki; 22 Tomiyasu, 4 Itakura, 21 Ito; 10 Doan, 24 Sano, 15 Kamada, 13 Nakamura; 14 Ito, 7 Tanaka, 18 Ueda.
Tunisia XI
Renard has immediately stamped his authority on this Tunisian side. He’s replaced the goalkeeper Chamakh (who only scored a 3 on Guardian’s player ratings for the opening match), brought Dylan Bronn into the back three, and handed a start to Sebastien Tounekti in the front three. It looks as though Mejbri, the chief outlet against Sweden, will play in a midfield two rather than as a floating No 10.
Tunisia (5-3-2): 16 Dahmen, 20 Valery, 2 Abdi, 3 Talbi, 4 Rekik, 6 Bronn; 17 Skhiri 10 Mejbri; 26 Tounekti, 25 Ben Slimane, 8 Saad.
Preparations for this tournament, and this match in particular, have not gone smoothly for Tunisia. But it’s always nice to have Herve Renard and his fitted white dress shirt on the touchline.
Tunisia have sacked their head coach Sabri Lamouchi and appointed Hervé Renard until the end of the World Cup, after losing their opening game 5-1 to Sweden.
Former Nottingham Forest manager Lamouchi had only taken over in January and was in charge for just five matches, but he has become the first coach to be dismissed after a single game of a World Cup finals.
A statement from the Federation Tunisienne de Football announced the “termination of its contractual relationship” with Lamouchi by mutual agreement. Renard will bring World Cup experience having led Saudi Arabia to a surprise 2-1 win over eventual champions Argentina in Qatar, and he also took charge of Morocco in 2018. The 57-year-old has also managed Ivory Coast, Zambia and Angola at international level.
Slight tangent, but I think you’ll enjoy it.
I am unlikely to be in Dublin September, but if I was I would make sure to visit an exhibition at Hen’s Teeth featuring original paintings of all of Roy Keane’s career red cards. The promotional image is a painting of Keane stamping on Gareth Southgate in an FA Cup semi-final.
I have no connection to the artist or the venue, but it popped up in my feed and I thought it looked brilliant.
Ed Aarons was in Kansas City to witness the smallest nation in World Cup history securing their maiden point at the finals.
With well over an hour to kick-off there’s plenty of time for an update from Chandler and Joey / Will and Grace / 2 Broke Girls or whatever your preferred combination of New York flatmates happens to be, on the World Cup Daily podcast.
Bracketology has been a godsend, hasn’t it? With the final round of group matches hoving into view it has never been more valuable. I might be crazy, but I now have England taking on DR Congo in the round of 32.
Preamble
Jonathan Howcroft
Hello everybody and welcome to live coverage of Tunisia v Japan from Estadio Monterrey. Kick-off in this Group F clash is 9pm local time (12am EDT/5am BST/2pm AEST).
Wherever you happen to be in the world thank you for keeping me company on what is perhaps the graveyard shift of the entire tournament. There isn’t the novelty of the first round of group matches, there isn’t the jeopardy of the third, and our cups already runneth over thanks to three of the matches of the World Cup so far already this matchday.
Moreover, Tunisia were so bad against Sweden the other day they sacked their manager on the spot, while Japan looked tidy against the Netherlands, suggesting the result might not require the clairvoyance of Paul the octopus.
That is not to say there is nothing at stake. Tunisia must get a positive result to remain alive in the competition. Japan will want to secure their place in the knockout stages before a clash with a Sweden side that boats one of the most impressive forward lines in the draw.
Maybe, for all my pessimism, we will be treated to a cracker.
I’ll be back shortly with team news and a roundup of all the matchday action so far. In the meantime you can keep an enjoy the fallout from Curacao somehow denying Ecuador in Group E and email any thoughts about the World Cup to jonathan.howcroft.freelance@theguardian.com.
The first result to plug into the matrix this matchday was the Netherlands announcing themselves as serious contenders with a 5-1 thumping of Sweden in a highly entertaining affair. It’s over to Japan to keep pace in Group F.
When given oxygen the Netherlands were simply too good, scoring straight after the restart when Summerville twisted Sweden inside out and allowed Dumfries to cross again. Gakpo could not miss from a couple of yards and, enjoying a wildly productive afternoon of his own, proceeded to score another. This time he took a pass from Summerville, who had not been deemed fit to start, and cracked low to Kristoffer Nordfeldt’s right from 20 yards.
Germany boast a supremely talented squad and innvoative young coach, but their World Cup hopes always threatened to come down to the ability of the unfancied Kai Havertz and Deniz Undav to find the back of the net. So far so good.
Some footballing stereotypes just will not fade away. Germany may no longer be the mirthless, methodical winning machine who would slowly maul their opponents until they inevitably engineered victory, but, evidently, they still know how to fashion match-winners from final moments.
Consequently, the Germans will play in the World Cup knockout stages for the first time in 12 years after another victory at the death. Côte d’Ivoire had gone ahead in a lively encounter on Saturday through Franck Kessié’s 30th-minute goal for Les Éléphants. But it was cancelled out by Deniz Undav’s 68th-minute equaliser and 94th-minute winner for Die Mannschaft.
The family of Shaun Burton, say they are “devastated” by the loss.
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Key events
In the opening half an hour against Cape Verde, Mikel Oyarzabal, the centre-forward, did not get a single touch.
Kyle Green gets in touch: “Your highlighting of Lalas and his absurdity is something that has prevented me from wanting to watch the coverage on Fox. While every channel has its pros and cons I just can’t.
“I’m 45 and probably the youngest of anyone who remembers him as a player instead of an opinionated insert insult here. As for the match this could be more competitive than it looks on paper Spain need a win the pressure is on them. Saudi Arabia could hold out for a draw and see what happens in their last match. “
News from the England camp, and it seems to be good news on Declan Rice.
“I’m ready and fit, raring to go. I was feeling a little bit of neural pain in my hamstring, which I was managing from after Christmas with Arsenal for a very long time. Obviously, not a lot of people would have known that. It was all behind-the-scenes stuff but it was a smart decision.
“In the end, that last 20 minutes is probably where you pick up the most, and it’s where you play a 70-minute match. But that last 20 is where you really feel your body going for it. And I think it was a smart decision because the last few days I felt really, really good.”
Alex Reid has penned today’s weekend special Football Daily.
Portugal v Uzbekistan on Tuesday enticingly pits the incredibly nice, incredibly 41-year-old-superstar-tolerant Roberto Martínez against Fabio Cannavaro, who’s won a Ballon d’Or as a player and the Chinese Super League as a coach. While the fixture following that game really does see the dream of Thomas Tuchel – in his first international job with England – taking on Queiroz, who is in charge of his ninth national side with Ghana.
The expected formations are 4-2-3-1 for Spain, and 5-3-2 for the Saudi Arabians.
The Saudi team features two Donis changes: Ali Lajami, a defender, and Nasser Al Dawsari, a midfielder, are preferred to Mohammed Abu Al Shamat and Mohamed Kanno. You may recall Salem Al Dawsari, the Saudi captain, as the man who scored the winner against Argentina.
An entertaining read, even for those of us who have just seen the clips.
In a conversation where his co-panelist is casually reminiscing about his days playing alongside Messi or exchanging shirts with Ronaldo Nazário at the World Cup, what exactly is Lalas going to talk about – coming on as a second-half substitute for Earnie Stewart in a friendly against Scotland in 1998? Helping the Kansas City Wizards finish last in the 1999 MLS Western Conference? Did Lalas enjoy an elite playing career? No. But does he do the background reading that could compensate for his relative lack of standing in a conversation with titans like Henry and Zlatan? Also no. But is he charming or funny or charismatic or otherwise magnetic on screen? Eh, no.
For the record, I once interviewed Alexi Lalas on the challenge of playing against Romario in the 1994 World Cup. He had this to say:
“He could kill you in so many different ways. If you remember from that World Cup, he scored so many types of goals. That ranged from solo adventures to an outside-of-the-right-foot half-volley off a corner kick. Romario was both the most difficult to play against and the best that I have faced.
“Roberto Baggio was doing his thing, but in terms of consistency and living up to the hype, he [Romario] was the best. As with all stars, there was a moment when the fans sit up in their seats, and that was a feeling I got with Romario. When it got close to him and the potential for his involvement in a play was there, everybody sat up in their seat. They knew that something spectacular would be happening.”
Saturday’s match reports here.
The Saudi Arabia coach, and Blackburn legend, Georgios Donis, spoke about the challenges facing his team: “Spain is not the same team when Yamal or Williams are on the bench.
“While they still have plenty of possession, they lack the individual one-on-one penetration when these two are missing. I’m not saying it’s a problem for Spain, but when those players are missing, they play in a different way. We saw this very clearly against Cape Verde.
“We are playing against one of the best teams in the world, and it’s very important that when you play against these kinds of teams, you should enjoy the experience and respect the opponent, but not too much.
“It is very hard for any team playing against Spain to have any time in possession. So what we must do is to be more in control of our movement and compact, and when the ball goes through the lines, be able to defend dynamically.
“It’s nice to see miracles in football, and we’ve seen favourites losing against underdogs. Of course, it’s great for Saudi football to have a great memory of the result against Argentina, but we aren’t drawing anything from that.
“I think we’ll feel more pressure in that [Cape Verde] game than we will against Spain.”
The Spain coach, Luis De La Fuente had this to say in his Saturday press conference: “This generation of footballers is highly competitive and really fired up… It’s going to be a completely different story,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Saturday. There is no drama or crisis. The bottom line is simply that we need to win tomorrow.”
Four changes for Spain: Lamine Yamal, Pedro Porro, Dani Olmo and Alex Baena also come into the side with Marcos Llorente, Fabian Ruiz, Ferran Torres and Gavi dropping out.
The teams – Lamine Yamal starts
Spain: Simon, Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella, Gonzalez, Rodri, Yamal, Olmo, Baena, Oyarzabal. Subs: Raya, Joan Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, Eric Garcia, Llorente, Merino, Torres, Fabian, Gavi, Pino, Williams, Zubimendi, Munoz, Iglesias.
Saudi Arabia: Al Owais, Abdulhamid, Tambakti, Lajami, Al Amri, Al Harbi, Nasser Al Dawsari, Al Khaibari, Al Juwayr, Al Buraikan, Salem Al Dawsari. Subs: Al Aqidi, Al Kassar, Majrashi, Yahya, Al Shehri, Al Boushal, Kadesh, Al Johani, Al Ghannam, Al Hajji, Al Hamdan, Mandash, Kanno, Thakri, Abu Al Shamat.
Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)
Perhaps one of the Saudi -players can write themselves into this high-grade selection?
Perhaps it can be their goalkeeper.
Madrid screening of Spain v Saudi Arabia cancelled due to heat
The public screening of Spain’s World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in Madrid on Sunday has been cancelled because of extreme heat forecast for the Spanish capital, officials said.
The match, due to kick off at 6pm local time on Sunday, had been scheduled to be shown on a giant screen installed by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) at a fan zone in Plaza de Colón in central Madrid.
Madrid city council and the federation decided to cancel the screening after national weather agency AEMET issued an orange heat warning – the second-highest level – for the Madrid region, with temperatures forecast to reach 40C.
“The decision has been taken with the aim of protecting the health of attendees, event staff and support services involved in the event,” Madrid city hall said in a statement, apologising for any inconvenience.
Officials urged supporters to watch the match indoors in air-conditioned spaces and avoid prolonged exposure to the heat.
Large parts of Spain are experiencing unusually high temperatures for June as a mass of hot air from North Africa moves across the Iberian Peninsula.
A total of 13 of Spain’s 17 regions are on orange alert for heat on Sunday, while the northern Basque Country bordering France is on red alert, the highest level.
Authorities advised residents and visitors to take precautions during the heatwave, including drinking water regularly, staying in cool environments, limiting outdoor physical activity during the hottest hours of the day and taking extra care of vulnerable people. AFP
Can Saudi Arabia repeat the magic of 2022?
Argentina arrived in Qatar on a 36-game unbeaten run. When Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 10 minutes, a comfortable afternoon seemed in the offing. Saleh al-Shehri and Salem al-Dawsari had other ideas, Argentina had three goals disallowed for offside in the space of 13 minutes and the greatest comeback in Saudi Arabia football history was made. Argentina went on to lift the trophy, while defeats to Poland and Mexico meant the Saudis did not reach the knock-out stage.
Unai Simon over David Raya is a controversial choice for De la Fuentes. The Arsenal keeper could lay claim to being Europe’s best this season.
“Those at the Champions League final had a few more days, so I got there on the Wednesday night,” Raya says. “I arrived a bit before Fabián [Ruiz]. I was saying hello to some of the others in reception when he arrived. I went to say congratulations; that was almost the first thing I did. I couldn’t really talk [to him] after the final; I just didn’t have it in me. The next day we talked about the game properly. Just two mates chatting … I was happy for him that he could lift the trophy for a second time.”
A high pressure game for the European champions, as Sid Lowe reports.
“If we had scored one, the game would have changed,” Martín Zubimendi said. Immediately after the game, De la Fuente had offered a simple analysis: when the ball doesn’t want to go in it doesn’t want to go in, he insisted. Spain had racked up 27 shots, after all. Ferran Torres had hit the bar and seen another clear opportunity saved. Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who stopped that, saved six more and was named the man of the match. “There’s nothing to reproach the team for,” Rodri said. “We generated chances but couldn’t put it away; the good thing is they created almost nothing.”
We wait to see what role Lamine Yamal will play today. His coach would surely like to be able to use him.
The worst mistake we could make would be to compare him to anyone. He is the midst of a process. He has exceptional footballing maturity and lives it all with total naturalness. He has great serenity and strength. We have to let him follow his path but those players who have something different are ready for that. They’re geniuses, like Dalí [who] can paint a picture, or Michelangelo. They’re different. What is exceptional to us, isn’t to them. In those extremes, they feel comfortable. Why? Because they are different. What we think is exceptional, they consider normal.
Preamble
Spain’s campaign did not get off to a flying start, and Luis de la Fuentes may wake up in the night to visions of Cape Verde’s Vozinha. He will have Georgia on his mind ever since Monday. Saudi Arabia are no pushovers and gave Uruguay a scare in their opening match. Memories of downing Argentina four years ago still abound, and so Spain might beware. They can ill afford to go into the final game with Uruguay at a disadvantage. All eyes on Lamine Yamal, whose fitness situation remains opaque, though Spain need their other forwards to come to the party.
Kick-off 5pm UK, 1pm ET, 2am AEST. Join me.
A topless man can be seen driving erratically in Edinburgh before abandoning his car and attacking a black man and a delivery rider.
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