Published on 6/26/2026
|
Last update: 07:10 (Mecca time)
The Netherlands defeated Tunisia 3-1, ensuring its qualification to the round of 32 of the 2026 World Cup, at the top of its sixth group, on Thursday in Kansas.
Elias Al-Sakhiri scored for the Netherlands (3 by mistake in his own goal), Brian Proby (7), and Jan-Paul van Hecke (62), and for Tunisia, which had lost hope of qualifying since the second round, Hazem Al-Masturi (54).
Read also
list of 2 itemsend of list
Offensive mills
The Netherlands scored 10 goals in their first three World Cup matches for only the second time, after 2014, and also topped their World Cup group for the sixth time in their last seven appearances in the tournament.
The Netherlands national team had 71.7% of possession of the ball in its match against Tunisia, setting a new record since Opta began tracking possession data in 1966, surpassing its previous record set in 1994 when the Dutch had 70.8% of possession against Saudi Arabia.
The Netherlands needed just 6 minutes and 24 seconds to go 2-0 up against Tunisia, the fastest such start in a World Cup match since Poland led the United States 2-0 after 4 minutes and 21 seconds in 2002.
Brian Probbe scored with his first shot of the match, having scored two of his previous only shots in the tournament, becoming only the third player to score with each of his first three shots at a World Cup since 1966, after Laszlo Kiss (for Hungary in 1982) and Jerry Mina (for Colombia in 2018).
Jan-Paul van Hecke made 130 successful passes, a new record for a Dutch player in a World Cup match since data collection began in 1966, breaking Joren Timper’s record set in 2022 (106 passes against Qatar). No player in the history of the World Cup has recorded so many successful passes in one match while also scoring a goal in the same match.
Memphis Depay played his 112th international match for the Netherlands, tying him with Frank de Boer as the third most capped player for the Dutch national team. He also played his 12th World Cup match and did not lose any of it in regular or extra time, joining Mario Zagallo, Julio Olarticochea and Daley Blind as players who achieved this achievement (all 12 matches).
Tunisia’s negative numbers
Tunisia has conceded 12 goals in this World Cup, the most for any team in the group stage since North Korea in 2010 (also 12 goals), and the most overall since Brazil in 2014 (conceded 14 goals in 7 matches).
Tunisia’s two goals in the 2026 World Cup were headed, equaling the total number of headed goals scored by the team in its previous 14 matches in the tournament.
The own goal scored by Tunisia’s Elias Skhiri after 2 minutes and 21 seconds was the second fastest goal by the Netherlands in a World Cup match, after the penalty kick scored by Johan Neeskens against Germany in the 1974 final (1:26).
The own goal scored by Elias Sakhiri was also the second fastest own goal in World Cup history, after the own goal scored by Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Sead Kolasinac against Argentina in 2014 (2 minutes and 11 seconds).
After the conclusion of the Group Six competitions, the number of goals in the 2026 World Cup reached 172, the same number that was scored in the 2022 World Cup, which was so far the most goal-scoring edition in the history of the tournament.
