THE Netherlands finished top of Group F after easing past Tunisia, while Japan and Sweden also secured places in the World Cup knockout stage following an entertaining final round of group matches.
News Point Nigeria Sport reports that Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands sealed first place with a comfortable victory over Tunisia, while Sweden fought back to earn a crucial draw against Japan, a result that sent both teams through to the last 32.
The Dutch needed only seven minutes to take complete control of their contest, scoring twice to guide themselves to victory and set up a round-of-32 clash with Group C runners-up and 2022 semi-finalists Morocco in Monterrey at 02:00 BST on Tuesday.
Koeman’s men were ahead before the clock had reached the three-minute mark after Tunisia captain Ellyes Skhiri inadvertently turned a Denzel Dumfries cross into his own net.
Sunderland striker Brian Brobbey doubled the lead four minutes later, grabbing his third goal of the tournament when he tapped home from close range after Virgil van Dijk nodded a delivery across the face of goal.
The Netherlands rarely had to move beyond first gear as they comfortably outplayed a lacklustre Tunisia side, pulling them out of position with ease and creating chance after chance throughout the contest.
Tunisia briefly threatened a comeback in the second half after a defensive lapse allowed Hazem Mastouri to head home from a corner. Manchester City’s Tijjani Reijnders lost track of his marker, enabling Mastouri to send his effort into the bottom corner.
Any hopes of a revival were quickly extinguished as Jan Paul van Hecke restored the Netherlands’ two-goal advantage, heading a corner towards goal before it took a slight deflection off a Tunisia defender on its way past the goalkeeper.
The victory ensured the Netherlands finished top of Group F after producing another dominant display in which they registered 20 shots, including 12 in the opening half alone.
Although Tunisia’s exit had already been confirmed following their earlier 4-0 defeat by Japan, the North Africans produced arguably their best performance of the tournament despite suffering a third consecutive defeat.
Anis Ben Slimane sparked a handful of counter-attacks, but the gulf in quality remained evident throughout the encounter.
There had been concerns the match might be delayed following severe weather warnings, but officials eventually cleared the fixture to proceed as scheduled, with both sides instead battling through spells of torrential rain.
For Tunisia, the defeat capped a miserable World Cup campaign that included conceding 12 goals in three matches and the dismissal of their manager after the heavy 5-1 defeat to Sweden in their opening fixture.
While the Netherlands comfortably secured first place, Sweden produced a spirited comeback to claim the point they needed against Japan and book a place in the knockout rounds.
Anthony Elanga’s stunning second-half strike earned Sweden a 1-1 draw after Graham Potter’s side recovered from falling behind to finish third in Group F with four points—enough to qualify among the advancing teams.
Sweden will now face one of France, Norway, Germany or Switzerland in the last 32.
Japan, meanwhile, finished second behind the Netherlands and will meet five-time world champions Brazil in Houston on Monday at 18:00 BST.
The opening half produced little excitement as both sides appeared content with a goalless stalemate, with neither team showing much attacking urgency.
However, the match burst into life after the restart.
Celtic forward Daizen Maeda fired Japan ahead in the 56th minute following an excellent team move that saw Ayase Ueda combine neatly with Ritsu Doan before the latter teed up Maeda for the finish.
Sweden responded within six minutes.
Making his first start of the tournament, Newcastle United winger Anthony Elanga cut inside from the left before unleashing a powerful strike from the edge of the area that beat Japan goalkeeper Zion Suzuki, who appeared unsighted until the ball was already past him.
Following the second-half hydration break, the tempo gradually slowed, although Elanga and Alexander Isak both forced impressive late saves from Suzuki during stoppage time as Japan held on to secure second place.
Having suffered a humiliating 5-1 defeat to the Netherlands in their previous outing, Sweden faced a difficult task against an energetic and disciplined Japanese side.
Potter, who inherited a team that finished bottom of its qualifying group before reaching the World Cup through the UEFA Nations League play-offs, has overseen an impressive turnaround by guiding Sweden into the knockout stages.
His players showed resilience after going behind, knowing defeat would have left their qualification hopes hanging in the balance.
Although it took a moment of brilliance from Elanga to rescue the point, Sweden displayed the character needed to recover, with the winger visibly frustrated after the final whistle that he had not managed to score a winner.
Sweden will, however, need to be considerably stronger defensively than they were against the Netherlands if they face France in the round of 32.
Still, if Potter can continue to unlock the attacking qualities of Viktor Gyokeres, Alexander Isak and Anthony Elanga while tightening the defence, Sweden could prove difficult opponents in the knockout phase.
Japan, meanwhile, will turn their attention to a heavyweight showdown against Brazil after successfully navigating Group F behind the impressive Netherlands.