Tunisia vs. Japan: Head-to-head record and past meetings after 2026 World Cup fixture

By Carter White | 19 Jun 2026 18:01, Last updated: 21 Jun 2026 22:44

Head-to-head record

Previous meetings: 7

Tunisia wins: 1

Draws: 0

Japan wins: 6

Over the past three decades, Tunisia and Japan have locked horns on seven occasions, with the latter having the better of the matches, winning six and losing just once to the Eagles of Carthage.

The most recent meeting between the two nations saw the Samurai Blue continue their dominance, as they cruised to a 4-0 victory over the Eagles of Carthage on matchday two of the 2026 World Cup in Group F.

Tunisia, who had suffered a heavy 5-1 defeat to Sweden in their opening fixture, struggled to respond despite a change in the dugout, with new head coach Herve Renard seeing his side fall behind inside four minutes as Daichi Kamada opened the scoring.

Ayase Ueda doubled Japan’s advantage in the 31st minute, giving the Samurai Blue a comfortable lead heading into the break.

The pattern continued after the restart, with Japan adding a third in the 69th minute through Junya Ito before Ueda completed his brace in the 83rd minute to round off a commanding win.

The first clash between the two nations arrived in October 1996, when a solitary strike from Masakiyo Maezono secured a 1-0 friendly victory for Samurai Blue at Universiade Memorial Stadium, Kobe.

Tunisia's next trip to Japan was for a high-stakes competitive fixture in June 2002, with the hosts sealing a 2-0 win in Group H of the World Cup in front of 45,000 spectators at Osaka Nagai Stadium.

In fact, the African side lost four straight games in this matchup before finally registering their first and only success, with the Eagles of Carthage triumphing 3-0 in the 2022 final of the Kirin Cup.

Japan returned to winning ways against Tunisia last time out, though, as Kyogo Furuhashi and Junya Ito found the net in a 2-0 victory for Samurai Blue during the 2023 Kirin Challenge Cup in Kobe.