The Dutch secured the lead against a sparse Tunisian team, while the Japanese and the Swedes did not make any differences
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More qualifiers keep coming in. After the definition of Group E earlier, Group F would do the same: The Netherlands took control of the group with their comfortable 3-1 victory over eliminated Tunisia, while Japan secured second place after drawing 1-1 with Sweden.
Japan 1-1 Sweden
The initial minutes of the match were extremely even, with possession shared and few shots from both sides. The match was so contested that the only significant incidents were two injuries, one for each team, although towards the end of the first half, Japan had a clear chance with a shot from Keito Nakamura saved by Swedish goalkeeperJacob Zetterström.
In the second half, the Japanese came out determined to win the match and, after some approaches, they finally scored in the 55th minute when, after a great combination of passes, Daizen Maeda received the ball in the center of the area and beat Zetterström.
Although they showed the ability to extend their lead, the Asians suffered a quick equalizer from Sweden. In the 61st minute, Anthony Elanga shook off his marker and with a powerful left-footed shot from the right corner of the area made it 1-1.
Despite both teams having their chances to win the match, especially the Europeans, who forced several saves from goalkeeper Zion Suzuki, the match saw no further changes in its outcome.
Tunisia 1-3 Netherlands
In the other match, The Netherlands started strong and quickly scored two early goals. First, in the 3rd minute, defender Ellyes Skhiriscored an own goal deflecting a cross from the right wing by Denzel Dumfries. Just four minutes later, after a free kick by Tijjani Reijnders, Virgil van Dijk assisted with a header for Brian Brobbey, who only had to push it in to make it two.
Although they were the undisputed dominators of the match, the "Oranje" would fade as time went on and ended the first half with some opportunities to extend the lead, but they couldn't convert them.
In the second half, Tunisia showed some pride and got a goal back through Hazem Mastouri, who headed in a corner from Hannibal Mejbri that goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen couldn't reach.
Despite the joy of their recent goal, less than 10 minutes later the Tunisians would see their hopes dashed again by another goal from their rival, putting them two goals down again: from a corner, Jan Paul van Hecke headed in to make it 3-1. The Dutch momentum wouldn't stop there, as shortly after they had a clear chance: with a poor clearance from goalkeeper Aymen Dahmen, Reijnders attempted a chip, but the ball hit the crossbar.
Beyond continuing to try to increase their lead, the Netherlands would take their foot off the gas, letting the minutes pass without further changes to the score until the end.
How Group F ended
With these results, The Netherlands finished first with 7 points and will face Morocco in the Round of 16 next Monday, June 29 at the BBVA Stadium in Monterrey. Meanwhile, Japan finished second with 5 points and will face Brazil on the same day at the NRG Stadium in Houston.
Further down, Sweden finished third with 4 points, and advanced to the next stage as one of the mathematically best third-placed teams. Now, they will have to wait for the definition of the other groups to know their possible opponent and where and when they will play, although they already know that they will definitely play against a first-placed team from Group A (Mexico), B (Switzerland), E (Germany) or I (currently France).
Finally, Tunisia closed their poor participation with their third consecutive defeat, leaving them without points at the bottom of the table, thus consolidating their worst record in World Cups after the editions of 1998, 2002, and 2006, in which they at least managed to earn one point.
