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Tunisia 1-3 Netherlands: Oranje survive a second-half scare

By Zach Nichols·Jun 25, 2026·

Netherlands beat Tunisia 1-3 in Group F, racing two up inside seven minutes before Hazem Mastouri's header set up a tense finish the Dutch closed out.

What happened in Tunisia 1-3 Netherlands?

Netherlands won this Group F tie 1-3, and the headline for any neutral is simple: a blistering start did most of the work, but Tunisia made the Dutch sweat before Jan Paul van Hecke settled it. The visitors were two goals up before the seventh minute and held a 0-2 lead at the break.

From there it became a more watchable contest than the early scoreline suggested. Hazem Mastouri's header just after the hour reopened the game, only for van Hecke to answer within eight minutes and push the result back out of reach.

It was the kind of evening that flattered nobody and entertained everybody: a ruthless opening, a spirited fightback, and a finish that never quite arrived for the home side despite a flurry of late chances.

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How did Netherlands race two goals clear so early?

The game was effectively reshaped inside seven minutes. In the 3rd minute Ellyes Skhiri turned the ball into his own net to make it 0-1, the worst possible start for a Tunisia side built on staying compact and hard to break down.

Four minutes later it was 0-2. Brian Brobbey met a headed pass from Virgil van Dijk following a set piece and drilled a right-footed finish from the centre of the box into the top right corner. Two early blows, both with a set-piece flavour, and the contest's tone was set.

For a neutral, that double had a paradoxical effect. Rather than killing the match, it forced Tunisia to come out and play, which is exactly when the evening became fun to watch.

When did the game actually turn?

The swing arrived in the 54th minute. Hazem Mastouri rose in the centre of the box to head home a Hannibal Mejbri cross that followed a corner, finding the bottom left corner and cutting the deficit to 1-2. Suddenly a procession had become a proper contest.

That momentum lasted barely eight minutes. In the 62nd, Jan Paul van Hecke headed in a Tijjani Reijnders cross from the left side of the six-yard box into the top right corner, restoring the two-goal cushion at 1-3. It was the genuine turning point: the moment Tunisia's revival was checked and the result was put back beyond them.

The minutes around those goals were the heart of the match. At 65' Mastouri forced a save from Bart Verbruggen, and at 66' Reijnders rattled the bar, the kind of fine margins that decide whether a comeback breathes or fades.

Did Tunisia do enough to trouble Netherlands?

For a side ranked 44th and given just 0.2% title odds, Tunisia were far from passive. As early as the 12th minute Anis Slimane forced a save from Verbruggen with a header from a Yan Valery cross, a sign they would not simply sit in.

The closing stages brought their best spell of pressure. Mejbri tested Verbruggen from outside the box in the 76th minute, and the goalkeeper had already denied Mastouri at 65'. Tunisia kept asking questions even as the substitutions piled up on both benches.

Their reward, ultimately, was the consolation rather than the comeback. The early concessions, two of them from set-piece situations, were simply too steep a hill against opponents of this quality.

How busy was each goalkeeper?

Both goalkeepers earned their evening. Aymen Dahmen kept Tunisia in it repeatedly, saving from Reijnders (19'), Denzel Dumfries (44') and Reijnders again (68'), then turning aside a Virgil van Dijk header in the 78th minute. Without him the margin could have been wider.

At the other end Verbruggen was tidy when called upon, denying Slimane (12'), Mastouri (65') and Mejbri (76'). Add Reijnders striking the bar at 66', and Netherlands created more than enough to suggest the scoreline could have stretched.

For the neutral, that shot count is the texture of the night: an open game with two busy goalkeepers, where the chances kept coming even after the result felt decided.

Was the result expected for Group F?

On paper, yes. Netherlands arrived seventh in the FIFA rankings with 6% title odds, comfortably the stronger side against a Tunisia team rated 44th. A Dutch win was the logical outcome, and they delivered it.

What lifts the report above a routine favourite's victory is the manner of it. The fast start gave Netherlands control, but the second-half wobble after Mastouri's goal showed there is a game in this team for opponents brave enough to chase it.

For Group F, the takeaway is a clean three points for the favourites and encouragement, if not points, for Tunisia. Netherlands looked the part early; Tunisia proved they will not be a soft touch for anyone else in the pool.

Teams in this story

Tunisia Netherlands