Preview: Tunisia vs Japan - prediction, team news, lineups

Herve Renard’s tenure as Tunisia head coach begins at Estadio Monterrey in Guadalupe on Sunday when his side face Group F rivals Japan at the 2026 World Cup.

Adding to the spectacle, the encounter carries extra significance as it will enter the record books as the 1,000th game in World Cup history.

Match preview

Tunisia endured the worst possible start to their seventh World Cup appearance as they suffered a heavy 5-1 defeat to Sweden in their opening group fixture. The loss prompted the immediate dismissal of Sabri Lamouchi, who was only hired in January and spent five games in charge.

Technical director Mondher Kebaier was initially set to take the reins, but the African side have since appointed 57-year-old Frenchman Renard, who is now managing at his third successive World Cup with a third different nation having previously coached Morocco (2018) and Saudi Arabia (2022).

Renard famously steered Saudi Arabia to a shock group-stage triumph over eventual world champions Argentina in Qatar, and he will be hoping to make an instant impact in charge of Tunisia as they bid to pull off an upset against Japan this weekend.

Ranked 55th in the world by FIFA, Tunisia have won only one of their last eight internationals across all competitions (D2 L5) and have suffered defeat in each of their last three matches by an aggregate score of 11-1.

The Eagles of Carthage can at least take some comfort from the fact that they have won a game at their last two World Cup appearances in 2022 and 2018, while they beat Japan 3-0 in the Kirin Cup friendly tournament final four years ago.

Regarded by many as dark horses at this summer’s tournament, and given a respectable price among the best World Cup betting sites, Japan came from behind twice to rescue a 2-2 draw with the Netherlands in their opening Group F fixture last weekend.

The highly-anticipated contest exploded into life in the second half, with Virgil van Dijk’s headed opener initially cancelled out by Keito Nakamura’s low strike from the edge of the area. Crysencio Summerville restored the Oranje's lead, but Daichi Kamada secured a dramatic draw for Japan in the 89th minute by deftly heading home Koki Ogawa's late effort.

Although head coach Hajime Moriyasu was pleased with how his team “executed what we had planned and prepared for”, the 57-year-old was “a little disappointed” to come away with only a point on matchday one, with Japan’s six-game winning run coming to an end.

The Samurai Blue remain in contention to qualify for the knockout rounds for the third successive World Cup and can strengthen their chances of securing a top-two finish in Group F if they beat Tunisia before facing current leaders Sweden in their final fixture.

Ranked 17th in the world by FIFA, Japan have won five of their previous six encounters with Tunisia, most recently beating them 2-0 in a friendly held in Kobe in October 2023.

Tunisia World Cup form:

Tunisia form (all competitions):

Japan World Cup form:

Japan form (all competitions):

Team News

Tunisia began with a 3-5-2 formation against Sweden under Lamouchi, but new boss Renard may consider switching to a back four this weekend, with Omar Rekik and Montassar Talbi starting as central defenders in between full-backs Yan Valery and Ali Abdi.

Burnley’s Hannibal Mejbri could operate in an advanced central role in front of midfield duo Ellyes Skhiri and Rani Khedira, while Elias Achouri and Ismael Gharbi could be recalled to start on the flanks.

Firas Chaouat, Hazem Mastouri and Elias Saad are all contenders to play at the tip of Tunisia’s attack, but the former may get the nod on this occasion; he has scored more international goals than any other attacker in the current squad (six).

As for Japan, Takefusa Kubo is ruled out of this fixture after sustaining a knee injury in the draw with the Netherlands, and the Real Sociedad attacker was later pictured leaving the stadium in a wheelchair.

Yukinari Sugawara could be recalled as a result to start at right wing-back, which would allow Ritsu Doan to join Daizen Maeda and Ayase Ueda in a three-man frontline.

The rest of Moriyasu's side is expected to remain intact, so the likes of Takehiro Tomiyasu, Ao Tanaka, Keisuke Osako, Ko Itakura and 39-year-old Yuto Nagatomo may have to settle for a place on the substitutes' bench once again.

Tunisia possible starting lineup:

Chamakh; Valery, Rekik, Talbi, Ali Abdi; Skhiri, Khedira; Achouri, Hannibal, Gharbi; Chaouat

Japan possible starting lineup:

Suzuki; Taniguchi, Watanabe, H. Ito; Sugawara, Kamada, Sano, Nakamura; Roan, Maeda; Ueda

We say: Tunisia 1-3 Japan

While a response is fully expected from Tunisia as they seek an immediate manager bounce under Renard, containing their opponents' dynamic frontline will prove a daunting task.

Japan have notoriously failed to keep a clean sheet in their last 11 World Cup games, but their superior attacking fluency should ultimately overwhelm their African opponents to secure a decisive victory.

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