Tunisia, known as The Eagles of Carthage, entered the match needing a positive result to revive their qualification hopes. Instead they endured another painful evening, leaving them with two defeats from two matches and no route to the knockout stages.
The exit follows another heavy defeat earlier in the tournament, having opened their campaign with a crushing 5-1 loss to Sweden.
TUNISIA DISASTROUS CAMPAIGN COMES TO AN END
The back-to-back thrashings mean they have conceded nine goals while scoring just once, making them one of the tournament’s poorest-performing teams.
Japan dominated the latest encounter from start to finish, exposing Tunisia’s defensive weaknesses and ensuring the North Africans became the first African nation to crash out of the expanded 48-team World Cup.
Tunisia arrived at the tournament hoping to make a deep run but instead leave with their campaign in tatters after only two matches.
For the Eagles of Carthage, the focus shifts from qualification dreams to reflection after one of the most disappointing FIFA World Cup campaigns in the nation’s recent history.
NINE AFRICAN NATIONS REMAIN
Attention now turns to the remaining nine African representatives, whose FIFA World Cup campaigns remain delicately poised as the group stage reaches its decisive phase.
Morocco and Ivory Coast appear best placed to reach the Round of 32. Morocco sit on four points in Group C after an impressive draw against Brazil and need only avoid defeat against already eliminated Haiti to secure qualification. Ivory Coast, meanwhile, boosted their hopes with a crucial victory over Ecuador and now head into their final Group E clash against Curaçao in a strong position to advance.
Elsewhere, the pressure is mounting. Ghana can strengthen their grip on qualification with a positive result against England, while Senegal face a must-win showdown with Norway after opening their campaign with defeat to France. Algeria are also in danger after losing to Austria and now require a result against Jordan to keep their hopes alive.
The picture remains wide open for several other African nations. Egypt are locked in a tightly contested Group G where every team sits on one point, leaving clashes with Iran and New Zealand likely to determine qualification. Cape Verde also remain firmly in contention after an impressive draw against Spain in Group H.
For South Africa, the equation is simple. Bafana Bafana must defeat South Korea in their final Group A fixture and hope Mexico overcome Czechia to stand a realistic chance of progressing to the knockout rounds. With Tunisia already eliminated, the rest of Africa will be desperate to keep the continent’s FIFA World Cup hopes alive.
