Netherlands 2, Japan 2
In Group F, the Netherlands and Japan delivered what has been billed as the game of the tournament thus far in a 2-2 thriller. All hell broke loose early in the second half as three goals were scored in 13 minutes. The Dutch held a 2-1 lead for a stretch before Daichi Kamada delivered an equalizer for Japan in the 88th minute to earn a draw and a point.
Germany 7, Curaçao 1
In Group E, Germany briefly allowed Curaçao its moment in World Cup history, but ultimately imposed its will in a 7-1 rout. After Livano Comenencia's historic equalizer briefly sparked dreams across the Caribbean island nation, the four-time champions responded with six unanswered goals.
Ivory Coast 1, Ecuador 0
Ivory Coast snatched all three points at the death of its game against Ecuador, with Amad Diallo scoring a dramatic 90th-minute winner to lift the Elephants to a 1-0 win. That result shifted the early picture in Group E alongside Germany's win.
Sweden 5, Tunisia 1
The day concluded in Monterrey, Mexico, with Sweden handling Tunisia in a 5-1 blowout. Sweden scored first in the 7th minute thanks to Yasin Ayari, who connected from well outside the box, and Tunisia was immediately playing from behind.
Sweden got a great chance early on, with Viktor Gyökeres taking advantage of the transition to motor down the field, though his shot was well high of the goal. About 20 minutes in, Sweden was dominating with roughly 68% possession, and Tunisia had not yet had a shot on goal. Tunisia was also dinged for a delay penalty.
Alexander Isak broke open up the left side of the field and found the back of the net from the edge of the box in the 30th minute to make it 2-0. Tunisia was not out of it just yet. Omar Rekik headed a ball into the back of the net perfectly just before half, and the score was 2-1 at the break. After dominating for most of the half, Sweden stumbled a bit before the break to leave the door open for Tunisia.
Back in Monterrey for the second half, a winner would take the early lead in Group F. Tunisia had a few good looks in the second half but had not been able to tie the match back up, and it was still 2-1 entering the 58th minute. After an easy steal right in front of the goal, Viktor Gyökeres put it in to restore Sweden's two-goal lead in the 59th minute.
There had only been five total shots on target through much of the night, yet four goals as the match entered the 80th minute, with Sweden up 3-1. Mattias Svanberg had a fourth goal called back due to an offsides that was very clear on the replay, but after a review it was determined that a teammate touched the ball first, which reset Svanberg's position. The goal stood, and Sweden was up 4-0.
Yasin Ayari drilled another one from distance for his second goal of the night, pushing Sweden to 5-1 with just moments left. Ayari was pretty tame after scoring, likely due to the fact that he was eligible to represent Tunisia at the international level through his father. Sweden picked up the commanding win to open the World Cup and moved into the lead in Group F.
Sweden's starting lineup included Kristoffer Nordfeldt; Gustaf Lagerbielke, Victor Lindelof (c), Isak Hien, and Gabriel Gudmundsson.
Sunday's final results
Day 4 produced four completed matches across Groups E and F:
- Germany 7, Curaçao 1
- Ivory Coast 1, Ecuador 0
- Netherlands 2, Japan 2
- Sweden 5, Tunisia 1
