MONTERREY, Mexico — Just prior to Saturday evening’s match at Estadio Monterrey, exactly 999 matches had taken place at the FIFA World Cup since it first took place in 1930.
By the luck of the draw, Japan and Tunisia enjoyed the honor of facing off in the landmark 1,000th match on football’s biggest stage.
In the 96 years since the tournament’s inaugural edition, plenty has been written into the history books.
Eight different nations can lay claim to having won the World Cup, sharing a total of 22 titles. Yet, there has not been new champions since Spain‘s triumph in 2010.
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Considering Japan have been very vocal about their ambition and plans to join that coveted list, they perhaps could not have chosen a better occasion to produce a statement of that intent — while making history of their own with a 4-0 win over the Tunisians in Group F.
The result represented the biggest winning margin the Samurai Blue have ever managed at the World Cup. Two-goal victories had previously been their ceiling, and only twice for that matter — a 2-0 victory coincidentally also against Tunisia in 2002 and a 3-1 triumph over Denmark in 2010.
Yet, perhaps what was more significant than the scoreline was the manner in which it was achieved. Arguably for the first time since their debut all the way back in 1998, Japan — in a game they were expected to win — truly dominated as favorites should.
It was unlike in 2022 when they pulled off huge upsets over Germany and Spain, only for their lone loss of the campaign to come against Costa Rica — in a game where coach Hajime Moriyasu curiously adopted a conservative approach.
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There was no repeat of such caution on Saturday — and it was what set the tone for the momentous win.
It took the Japanese just four minutes to break the deadlock. Peculiarly, for the second game running, Daichi Kamada might not have known too much in the process of finding the back of the net.
A week after Koki Ogawa’s towering header ricocheted off his scalp for Japan’s dramatic late equalizer against the Netherlands, Kamada this time was picked out by Keito Nakamura’s left-wing cross at the near post but did not really have enough time to react — only for it to come off his heel and nestle into the back of the net.
Japan could not have asked for a better start but, in truth, they could easily have been 3-0 up by the tenth minute.
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A last-ditch interception from Dylan Bronn denied Kamada an easy tap-in for his second, while the resultant corner saw Takehiro Tomiyasu only denied by a stunning save from Aymen Dahmen — who just prevented the whole of the ball from crossing the line.
Almost everything good the Samurai Blue were creating was going through Ueda, playing his role as the spearhead to perfection. He was strong in holding up play, creative in the build-up and also leading the press from the front.
A minute after the half-hour mark, he showed he is also fully capable of performing the main job of a striker.
Picking up possession deep before turning to advance on goal, Ueda looked to have wasted the opportunity to release one of several teammates in support. But as he reached the edge of the box and duly dispatched an emphatic effort into the bottom corner with searing accuracy, he obviously knew what he was doing all along.
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The Japan of old would have been happy to sit back on their two-goal lead in the second half. When another enterprising forward foray saw Ao Tanaka drag an effort from distance narrowly wide just three minutes after the restart, it looked like this was indeed the new Samurai Blue.
A third goal duly arrived in the 69th minute. Ueda once again did brilliantly as he received possession with his back to goal and coolly clipped a no-look through-ball in the reverse direction to release Junya Ito, who burst clear to calmly slot past Dahmen.
A three-goal win would already have been enough to make history yet Japan were not yet done.
With seven minutes left on the clock, Ueda grabbed the second goal his performance deserved.
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It was not the easiest of openings from Kaishu Sano’s right-wing delivery, which looked to have been lofted just a little too high. Still, Ueda showed all the nous of a player who impressively was the top scorer in the Dutch Eredivisie — straining every sinew to reach the ball and guide a looping header perfectly over two covering defenders on the line into the far corner.
It was a result that now puts the Samurai Blue firmly on course for the knockout round. A draw against Sweden in their final Group F outing will be enough for them to progress. They are, of course, aiming far bigger.
2026 may still not be the year Japan become the newest world champions. But, if their most dominant of World Cup displays on Saturday is anything to go by, they are definitely on the right path at long last.
