Netherlands beat Tunisia to top group: drawn with Morocco

In the final Group F match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the Netherlands beat Tunisia 3-1 away from home. After the match at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, the Netherlands reached 7 points, finished top of the group to advance to the round of 32, and were drawn against Morocco in the next round. Tunisia, bowing out of the tournament with two heavy defeats, ended their fight for pride with one goal.

The Netherlands made a superb start. In the 3rd minute, Tunisia captain Ellyes Skhiri, trying to cut out a ball driven across the box by Denzel Dumfries, turned it into his own net for an early shock. In the 7th minute, off Virgil van Dijk's assist, Brian Brobbey scored his third goal of the tournament to double the lead, and the first half closed 2-0 to the Netherlands.

In the second half, Tunisia found their moment of hope in the 54th minute. Rising well to a corner taken by Hannibal Mejbri, Hazem Mastouri headed home to make it 2-1 and injected excitement into the game. But Tunisia's hopes did not last long. In the 62nd minute, this time the Netherlands won a corner; off Tijjani Reijnders's delivery, Jan Paul van Hecke rose to head home his first goal of the tournament and take the score to 3-1.

For the rest of the match, the advantage was entirely with the Netherlands. Opening a clear gap on their opponents in possession (72%) and expected goals (1.68-0.43), they kept up the pressure with 20 shots in total. Ronald Koeman rotated late on, resting names like Memphis Depay and Cody Gakpo. The match, refereed by Garcia Mendoza, was watched by 68,391 fans. With this result the Netherlands finished top of the group, while Tunisia bowed out of the tournament pointless and bottom.

Image: Al Jazeera