Netherlands Cruise Past Tunisia

Tunisia endured a miserable end to their FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign, falling to a comfortable defeat against the Netherlands to finish the tournament without a single point. A change in management failed to spark a turnaround, with the Carthage Eagles exiting the competition as one of its biggest disappointments.
The defeat leaves Tunisia rooted to the bottom of the standings with zero points and a goal difference of 2-12, making them the tournament's weakest-performing side at this stage of the competition.
The contest was effectively over within the opening minutes. The Netherlands raced into a two-goal lead by the seventh minute, with one of the strikes coming courtesy of a costly Tunisian own goal. From that point on, the Dutch controlled proceedings with confidence, rarely looking troubled as they dictated possession and tempo.
Ronald Koeman's side never needed to move beyond second gear, comfortably seeing out the match while preserving energy for the knockout rounds. The only consolation for Tunisia came in the form of a Mastouri goal that at least prevented another scoreless outing, but it did little to soften the disappointment of a campaign that never truly got going.
World Cup 2026
Tunisia - Netherlands 1:3 (0:2)
Goals: Skhiri, 3 (own goal) (0:1); Brobbey, 7 (0:2); Mastouri, 54 (1:2); van Hecke, 62 (1:3)
Tunisia: Dahmen Ay.; Abdi Ali; Talbi; Valery; Ben Hamida (Ben Ouanes, 68); Khedira R. (Hadj Mahmoud, 67); Skhiri; Mejbri; Gharbi (Chaouat, 75); Ben Slimane A. (Achouri, 68); Mastouri (Tounekti, 90)
Substitution: Hadj Mahmoud (from 67); Ben Ouanes (from 68); Achouri (from 68); Chaouat (from 75); Tounekti (from 90)
Bench: Chamakh; Ben Hessen; Rekik O.; Bronn; Chikhaoui; Saad; Ayari; Elloumi
Netherlands: Verbruggen; van Dijk; Ake; van Hecke; Dumfries; de Jong F. (Koopmeiners T., 72); Gravenberch R.; Reijnders (Kluivert, 72); Gakpo (Lang N., 84); Malen (Summerville, 72); Brobbey (Depay, 77)
Substitution: Koopmeiners T. (from 72); Kluivert (from 72); Summerville (from 72); Depay (from 77); Lang N. (from 84)
Bench: Roefs; Flekken; Geertruida; van de Ven; Hato; de Roon; Wieffer; Til G.; Weghorst; Timber Q.