Netherlands 3-1 Tunisia: Two early goals set the tone, Jan Paul van Hecke adds another after halftime

In the third round of the 2026 World Cup group stage, the Netherlands beat Tunisia 3-1. The Dutch led 2-0 at halftime, Tunisia found a goal after the break, and the Netherlands responded again to keep a two-goal advantage through the final whistle.

The match started with goals almost immediately. In the 3rd minute, Ellyes Skhiri put the ball into his own net to give the Netherlands a 1-0 lead. Four minutes later, Brian Brobbey finished a Virgil van Dijk assist to make it 2-0. By halftime, the Netherlands had taken a comfortable two-goal lead into the break.

Tunisia reduced the gap in the 54th minute when Hazem Mastouri scored from a Hannibal Mejbri assist. Eight minutes later, Jan Paul van Hecke converted a Tijjani Reijnders assist to make it 3-1 for the Netherlands. The score did not change after that.

On the numbers, Tunisia had 28% possession and the Netherlands 72%. Tunisia recorded 10 shots to the Netherlands' 20, with 4 on target compared with 7. Tunisia won 4 corners, while the Netherlands had 6. Tunisia were flagged offside twice and the Netherlands once. Tunisia made 4 saves to the Netherlands' 3, and the foul count was 11 for Tunisia and 10 for the Netherlands.

For context from the previous round, Tunisia lost 0-4 to Japan in round 2 of the group stage, while the Netherlands beat Sweden 5-1 in round 2.