Tunisia vs Japan | FIFA World Cup 2026 — Group Stage | Preview and Prediction

This will be an exciting, all-important Group F clash at the 2026 FIFA World Cup between Japan and Tunisia on June 21 at the Estadio Monterrey in Guadalupe, Mexico. 

For the game, here we present our preview and prediction.

FIFA WC26 | Group F: TUN vs JPN | 07:30 IST, June 21, 2026

Tunisia suffered a huge 5–1 defeat against Sweden in their opening encounter, which led to their head coach, Sabri Lamouchi, being sacked mid-tournament. Tunisia have appointed Hervé Renard as his replacement until the end of the 2026 World Cup.

Tunisia topped their qualifying group without conceding a goal; much was expected from them. However, Sweden inflicted a heavy defeat in game one, scoring five goals and conceding one. Alexander Isak bagged a goal and two assists, Yasin Ayari scored a brace, and Viktor Gyökeres and Mattias Svanberg completed the demolition. Omar Rekik was the lone scorer for Tunisia. Individual error and poor defending cost Tunisia the game, something they will need to improve on against Japan.

Japan, meanwhile, opened their World Cup campaign with an enthralling 2–2 draw with the Netherlands. Having gone behind twice, the Samurai Blue showed great powers of recovery to earn a point late in the game when Daichi Kamada equalised in the 88th minute. Keito Nakamura was the other scorer. Virgil van Dijk and Crysensio Summerville were on the scoresheet for the Dutch.

Japan do have injury problems coming into this game, already missing key players in Kaoru Mitoma and captain Wataru Endo. Takefusa Kubo is also out for the rest of the campaign with a serious knee injury.

If Sweden beat the Netherlands in the other encounter, they will qualify for the next round, leaving only one spot left for guaranteed qualification, so a win is necessary here for both Tunisia and Japan. Being a higher-ranked side, Japan are the clear favourites for the win in this game. They like to play attacking football and will take the game to Tunisia. We anticipate another defeat for the Eagles of Carthage, which will also knock them out of the tournament.

Score Prediction: Tunisia 1–3 Japan
Venue: Estadio Monterrey, Guadalupe, Mexico