{"id":25447,"date":"2026-06-21T03:25:23","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T03:25:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/2026\/06\/21\/tunisia-vs-japan-live-updates-world-cup-2026-game-latest-score-and-team-news-the-new-york-times\/"},"modified":"2026-06-21T03:25:23","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T03:25:23","slug":"tunisia-vs-japan-live-updates-world-cup-2026-game-latest-score-and-team-news-the-new-york-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/2026\/06\/21\/tunisia-vs-japan-live-updates-world-cup-2026-game-latest-score-and-team-news-the-new-york-times\/","title":{"rendered":"Tunisia vs Japan live updates: World Cup 2026 game latest score and team news – The New York Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Japan<\/strong>\u2019s 2-2 comeback against the Netherlands told us plenty.
Twice behind, twice they levelled \u2014 Keito Nakamura<\/strong>\u2019s deflected strike and Daichi Kamada<\/strong>\u2019s late header rescuing a point \u2014 defending from a disciplined 5-4-1 low block with wing-backs jumping to track runners, before striking in transition.
Substitute Junya Ito<\/strong>\u2019s pace transformed the closing stages. And they did it all without the injured Kaoru Mitoma, their finest wide threat who is missing this tournament through injury.
The creative load now falls to Takefusa Kubo with Ritsu Doan<\/strong> \u2014 scorer against both Germany and Spain in 2022 \u2014 the kind of match-changer few sides can summon off the bench. Doan starts today.
Keisuke Honda, who is commentating for Japanese broadcaster NHK, just arrived in the press box in sunglasses and with his signature bleach blonde hair, causing a stir among some of the journalists.
It\u2019s fair to say the former Japan international looks as cool as ever.
And here is who Hajime Moriyasu has gone for as Japan\u2019s starting XI to find that first win of this World Cup.
Japan (3-4-2-1):<\/strong> Suzuki (GK); Tomiyasu, Itakura (c), Hiroki Ito; Doan, Sano, Kamada, Nakamura; Junya Ito, Tanaka; Ueda.
Four changes to the team from Moriyasu feels quite a lot.
Here we go. This is Herve Renard\u2019s first Tunisia XI since being parachuted into the head coach position.
Tunisia (5-4-1):<\/strong> Dahmen (GK); Valery, Rekik, Talbi, Bronn, Abdi; Saad, Skhiri (c), Mejbri, Tounekti; Slimane.
That is three changes from the XI smashed by Sweden, including in goal.
Hello and welcome once again to our coverage of Tunisia vs Japan<\/strong> \u2014 where one side will be expected to fly, and another already has its backs against the wall.
We\u2019ll have the official team news with you next before continuing our build-up to kick-off.
Don\u2019t go anywhere.
Big cheers in the stadium as Hajime Moriyasu and his squad are shown on the big screens arriving at the stadium. Think we\u2019ll see a pretty partisan crowd here.
Poor Tunisia.
I\u2019ve never seen weather like it in Monterrey yesterday. In the morning, temperatures were approaching 40 degrees Celsius (104F). By the afternoon, huge thunderstorms had flooded some streets and Japan trained with lightning strikes happening in the distance.
Today has been pretty regular by comparison, which organisers will be delighted about \u2014 the 10pm kick-off time here will probably help with the heat too.
Good news from inside Estadio BBVA too. My press seats are getting closer and closer to the money shot \u2014 that view of the Cerro de la Silla mountain.
There were orderly but long queues outside once again, as I was getting into the stadium about an hour ago. So that was with two and a half hours to go until kick-off.
Lots of love for Japan from the locals. Have seen very few Tunisia supporters at all today.
A World Cup meeting of cultures in Monterrey here at an event organised between the local club\u2019s ultras and Japan\u2019s \u2014 with a big crowd of Japan fans currently enjoying music by a regional band.
All ahead of the game.
This match shapes up as Japanese patience against Tunisian nerve.
Tunisia<\/strong> conceded five and looked desperately disorganised at the back against Sweden<\/strong> \u2014 an alarming precursor to facing a Japan<\/strong> side that thrives in transition and carries real quality in the final third.
New man Herve Renard<\/strong> is a renowned organiser and galvaniser, and Tunisia\u2019s hope rests on him tightening things fast; weathering the early storm and releasing attacking midfielder Hannibal Mejbri <\/strong>on the break.
Still, he has had little time to repair a leaking defence and Japan will happily pick at it today.
Out of work since Saudi Arabia sacked him in April, Herve Renard<\/strong> arrives on a World Cup reprieve \u2014 handed the job until the end of the tournament, with talk of a longer stay to follow.
And what a CV he carries: two Africa Cup of Nations crowns (Zambia in 2012, Ivory Coast in 2015), managing Morocco<\/strong> at the 2018 World Cup, a quarter-final run with France\u2019s women at the 2023 World Cup and most famously, the mastermind of Saudi Arabia<\/strong>\u2019s stunning defeat of Lionel Messi\u2019s Argentina in the opening match of Qatar 2022.
As the line goes, it wouldn\u2019t be a World Cup without Herve Renard and his trademark white shirt.
This time, he has had mere days<\/a> to haul a shell-shocked Tunisia<\/strong> off the canvas.
GO FURTHER
Tunisia appoint Herve Renard as new head coach after firing Sabri Lamouchi
For all their progress, one barrier still confronts Japan<\/strong>: the quarter-finals. The Samurai Blue have reached the last 16 on four occasions and fallen there every time.
Yet this is billed as their strongest generation \u2014 a side that has beaten Germany, Spain, Brazil and England, 1-0 at Wembley in March.
They were also the first nation of all 48 to book their place at this World Cup, their eighth in succession.
For once, expectation back home points beyond the round of 16, and Hajime Moriyasu<\/strong>\u2019s men will rarely get a better chance to build towards it.
The day before kick-off, Sabri Lamouchi<\/strong> spoke of living in the moment:
\ud83d\udcac \u201cI will try not to complain \u2026 just enjoy the present.\u201d <\/em><\/strong>
It didn\u2019t last<\/a>.
Barely 48 hours and five goals later, the 5-1 thrashing by Sweden<\/strong> had cost him his job \u2014 making Lamouchi the first head coach sacked a single game into a World Cup. It had also been his first competitive game in charge.
The warning signs had been flashing \u2014 one win in five months at the helm, a 5-0 friendly battering by Belgium <\/strong>\u2014 and the reckoning was brutal.
Defender Omar Rekik <\/strong>apologised to the nation, while one supporter\u2019s verdict to The Athletic<\/em><\/strong> was simply:
\ud83d\udcac \u201cNo tactics, no structure and no identity \u2014 just chaos.\u201d<\/em><\/strong>
GO FURTHER
Sabri Lamouchi and the unwanted record of being the first manager sacked after one World Cup game
The home to one of Mexico\u2019s biggest football rivalries \u2014 between Tigres UANL and CF Monterrey \u2014 is a perfect place for World Cup fixtures.
The stadium \u2014 Estadio BBVA \u2014 is perfect for it too. It seats 51,000 fans and its backdrop is among the most stunning stadium visuals around the world.
And a fun fact courtesy of The Athletic<\/em><\/strong> writer Felipe Cardenas<\/em>: Monterrey locals are referred to as regios, or regals.
For FIFA purposes, the ground is officially called Estadio Monterrey<\/strong> for the duration of the tournament.
Looking for a show to scratch your World Cup itch? We\u2019ve got you covered.
Watch or listen wherever you get your podcasts.
Game Details<\/p>\n

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World CupFIFA WorldCup 2026AdvertisementliveUpdated 4m agoTunisia take on Japan in Group F at the 2026 World Cup, in Monterrey today.Head coach Herve Renard steps in, after Tunisia fired Sabri Lamouchi following their opening 5-1 defeat by Sweden. Japan can all but seal a spot in the round of 32 with a victory.So, Herve Renard has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25448,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25447","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25447"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25447\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}