Hajime Moriyasu was delighted his Japan side were unaffected by Tunisia’s turmoil as they hammered the North Africans 4-0 to move to the brink of qualification for the knockout stages of the World Cup.
Tunisia sacked coach Sabri Lamouchi following their 5-1 defeat to Sweden with Herve Renard drafted in on a short-term basis.
But Renard was unable to inspire an improvement as Ayase Ueda’s double and goals from Junya Ito and Daichi Kamada saw Japan to a comfortable win.
“We didn’t know exactly what the opponents would do, but we didn’t focus too much on them. Instead, we prepared well for what we wanted to do and played aggressively,” Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu told DAZN.
The Asian giants sit second in Group F and require a point against Sweden to guarantee qualification.
Renard unable to inspire Tunisia improvement
Tunisia failed to muster a shot on target and had just 37.9% possession in one of the most one-sided games of the tournament so far. They sit bottom of the pool and cannot qualify.
Next up for them is a clash with the Netherlands, who thrashed Sweden last night.
“It is not the performance we were hoping for. The score of this second match is heavy, but it reflects the difference between the two teams tonight,” said Renard.
“It is important to get ready to fight for this third game against the Netherlands. It’s never easy after two losses in two games, but we must take our responsibilities and be professionals to the very end.”
