Germany became the third team to qualify for the Round of 32 with a 2-1 victory over Ivory Coast, though they have not yet secured first place in Group F. Tunisia has officially been eliminated after their loss to Japan. Meanwhile the Samurai Blue make history in their 4-0 win, yet are neither eliminated nor qualified, as it will be their third match that will decide where they stand.
Germany 2-1 Ivory Coast
Germany came back and snuck away with a win to qualify for the knockouts. Ivory Coast came out with confidence and, after their first goal, looked as if they had a better chance at winning than Germany, who were very slow in finding their rhythm.
Ivory Coast went into halftime ahead 1-0 thanks to a goal from their captain Franck Kessié. They entered the second half with just as much confidence yet blew the match in one play.
A breakaway was started on the right wing by Nicolas Pépé who took the ball all the way from behind midfield to right outside the Germany box. He played a beautiful pass across the box to a wide-open Simon Adingra, who decided he was better off taking a touch instead of immediately shooting. This gave time for Germany to intercept the ball and kill Ivory Coast’s best chance in the half.
German substitute Deniz Undav scored a brace with his second and winning goal coming at the 90+4th minute where all he had to do was turn and shoot from right behind the penalty spot.
This win guarantees Germany a spot in the Round of 32 but not first place in their group.
Japan 4-0 Tunisia
Japan’s win moves them into second place in their group and seals Tunisia’s elimination from the tournament.
Japan, which is normally a second-half team, came out with urgency and got their first goal inside four minutes off of a cross that hit off the heel of Daichi Kamada and in.
Their second goal came 27 minutes later from a wonderful strike from Ayase Ueda that went across the box and into the far bottom left corner.
Japan scored their third in the 69th minute when Junya Ito received a great pass that left him ahead of everyone and he calmly passed the ball to the right side of the goalkeeper.
In the 83rd minute, Ueda would complete his brace with a looping header that floated over the defender and dropped down into the right-side netting. The goal made Japan the first Asian team to score four goals in a World Cup match.
Due to the Netherland’s 5-1 victory over Sweden, it will take the final match day to see where the two of them as well as Japan will finish in Group F. If Japan wants to finish top of the group, they will need a convincing win against Sweden and hope that the eliminated Tunisia gives the Dutch a hard time.
As always, stay tuned to Futbolhijo.com for in-depth coverage of the biggest World Cup yet. Check back for my next article, where I will be covering matches and news that occur throughout the tournament. You can also read my previous recap of the USA’s and Türkiye’s performances.
Cover Photo: Germany qualifies for the knockouts. NOTE: Image generated using the prompt “Generate an image that matches: Germany qualifies for the Round of 32 in the 2026 World Cup. Change the players to Musiala, Tah, Kimmich, and Undav,” by OpenAI, ChatGPT, 2026 (https://chatgpt.com/).
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