Netherlands 3-1 Tunisia: Oranje Top Group F Ahead of Japan, Set Up Morocco Clash

The Netherlands needed barely seven minutes to take command. On the final matchday of the 2026 World Cup group stage, Ronald Koeman’s Oranje raced into a two-goal lead inside the opening ten minutes and never looked back, beating Tunisia 3-1 to finish atop Group F and march into the knockout rounds.

First half: a lightning start

The breakthrough came in the 3rd minute, when Tunisia defender Ellyes Skhiri turned a Dutch delivery into his own net for an early own goal. Before the North Africans could regroup, Brian Brobbey pounced on close-range chaos in the box in the 7th minute to make it 2-0.

Forced to chase the game, Tunisia found little joy against a settled Dutch back line, with Virgil van Dijk marshalling play from deep. The Oranje went into the break in full control.

Second half: Tunisia’s brief hope

Tunisia emerged with greater intent after the restart. In the 54th minute, Hazem Mastouri pulled one back to make it 1-2, briefly stirring belief among the travelling support. But the Dutch response was swift: in the 62nd minute, centre-back Jan Paul van Hecke struck to restore the two-goal cushion at 3-1 and extinguish any thoughts of a comeback.

Tunisia, who shipped 12 goals across their three group matches, were undone by defensive frailty and bowed out pointless at the bottom of the table.

What it means

The victory lifted the Netherlands to seven points and first place in Group F, finishing ahead of Japan, who also progressed. The Oranje now travel to Monterrey to face Morocco in the round of 32 — a tantalising last-32 tie. For Tunisia, the campaign ends in disappointment.

For more coverage, see our match reports, follow the action on live scores, and check the full schedule on our fixtures page.

Disclaimer: Scores, scorers and timings are compiled from public post-match reports including FIFA, ESPN and Al Jazeera. Where these differ from official final data, the official record prevails.