Japan marked the 1,000th game in World Cup history with a 4-0 thrashing of Tunisia on Saturday to close in on a place in the last 32. Ayase Ueda scored twice, while Daichi Kamada and Junya Ito were also on target as the Asian giants joined the Netherlands on four points at the top of Group F. You might be wondering what went wrong for Tunisia, who were thumped 5-1 by Sweden in their first game of the tournament.

The result marked a losing start for new Tunisia manager Herve Renard, who was hastily appointed to take over the World Cup campaign after predecessor Sabri Lamouchi was sacked in the wake of the Sweden drubbing. Renard's team never looked like threatening a technically superior Japanese side that were quickly into their trademark smooth passing game. Daichi Kamada opened the scoring after just four minutes, finishing from close range after deft interplay from Ao Tanaka and Keito Nakamura.

Japan almost scored again moments later, with only a desperate goal-line clearance from Dylan Bronn denying the Asian giants a second goal. Tunisia goalkeeper Aymen Dahmen was also working overtime, having to claw away a shot that just went agonisingly short of crossing the goalline. Japan finally added to their tally in the 31st minute, with striker Ueda taking advantage of some hesitant Tunisian defending to surge forward and thunder a low shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the area.

The rout continued in the second half, with Junya Ito latching onto a brilliant through ball to calmly finish on 69 minutes before Ueda scored again with a looping header in the 83rd minute. For Tunisia, it's a tough pill to swallow, especially with the World Cup being their first major tournament in over a decade.

Japan's new coach, Moriyuki Sano, was thrilled with his team's performance, saying:

'We're very happy with the way the team played. We controlled the game for most of the 90 minutes and deserved the win.'

Japan's World Cup History

Japan has a storied history in the World Cup, having made their debut in 1998. They have since become a mainstay of the tournament, with their best finish being a round of 16 appearance in 2002, 2010, and 2018. With this win, they're well on track to make the next round.

Tunisia's Exit

For Tunisia, this exit means they will not be able to continue their World Cup journey. The team was optimistic about their chances, but their poor performance against Japan sealed their fate.