Skhiri own goal and a nine-man second half end Tunisia's World Cup

Skhiri own goal sets tone, Tunisia out with a whimper

Three minutes. That is how long it took for the nightmare to start. Ellyes Skhiri turned the ball into his own net in the 3rd minute, and Tunisia never recovered. Netherlands 3–1 Tunisia, and the Carthage Eagles are out of the 2026 World Cup with zero points (2) (14).

Brian Brobbey and Jan Paul van Hecke scored twice in the opening seven minutes, a start German media called a "Wahnsinnsstart", and the game was over before your team had touched the ball properly (10) (6).

Two men short after the break

It got worse. Tunisia started the second half with only nine players on the pitch. Two men were still in the locker room (13). The kind of moment that sums up a tournament, and not in any way you want it to.

Skhiri's record game to forget

Ellyes Skhiri earned his record cap in this match. He scored an own goal. Then a problem with his shirt caused a delay while a replacement was found. Kick Germany's headline called it: "Eigentor, Textilfehler und Verspätung, Skhiris Rekordspiel zum Vergessen", own goal, textile error, and delay, a record match to forget (14).

Netherlands reward: Morocco in the last 32

The Dutch topped Group F and will face Morocco in the knockout round (1) (8). For Tunisia, the 1–9 goal difference across two group games, 5–1 to Japan, 4–0 to the same side, now 3–1 to the Netherlands, is the worst World Cup campaign by an African heavyweight in memory.

Fan reactions

Reddit barely discussed the match itself. The match thread on r/soccer drew little engagement, and most posts were highlights of the early goals rather than analysis. The Dutch parade in Kansas before kickoff got more attention among fans than the game that followed. The silence tells you everything about where this team stands right now.

Match thread on r/soccer