WC 2002-2022
Japan vs Tunisia
No meeting in this window
—
WC 2026 · HEAD-TO-HEAD · GROUP F MEETING
🇯🇵
Japan
GROUP FFIFA #184 PL
vs
🇹🇳
Tunisia
GROUP FFIFA #441 PL
WHAT THIS MATCHUP MEANS
The story before a ball is kicked
Japan arrive in Group F as the mid-tier seed with 4 Premier League players in their squad. Tunisia share that group as the underdog seed with 1 PL regular.
The two meet directly in the group stage. The result is critical — Group F's order through R32 is decided across just three matchdays, and head-to-head between equally-ranked teams is the second tiebreaker after points.
The pre-match weight of evidence leans Japan's way narrowly. Below: a six-dimension head-to-head, the Premier League club distribution per squad, and the Onside verdict.
INTERACTIVE · COMBINED DREAM XI
Build the best XI from BOTH squads
Tap any pitch slot to pick from Japan + Tunisia. Switch formation any time. Saved on this device.
0 / 11JPN 0·TUN 0
Sources: official 26-man squads via football-data.org · Premier League roster fallback when feed lags. Loading saved picks…
HEAD-TO-HEAD · 6 DIMENSIONS
Japan vs Tunisia — where each one wins
Each row scores the two teams 0–100 on a dimension. Longer bar = stronger. The colour-coded chip on the right names the winner of each axis.
FormHow strong they are on paper (FIFA world ranking)
JPN +2683
57
PL footprintHow many Premier League players are in the squad
JPN +1318
5
Host edgeWhether they have home advantage as a host nation
LEVEL0
0
Group seedSeed position in their group of four
JPN +5075
25
ConfedTheir confederation's historical tournament strength
TUN +1050
60
ExperienceA proxy for tournament heritage (rank + confederation)
JPN +1660
44
Japan
Tunisia
SQUAD CLUBS · PL PERSPECTIVE
Whose PL players are at the World Cup
If you own any of these clubs' assets in FPL, this matchup matters to your pre-season — tournament minutes here become Saturday minutes in August.
SQUAD · PL CLUB BREAKDOWN
Where Japan's 4 PL players come from
For FPL managers: if you own any of these clubs' assets, Japan's tournament minutes shape your pre-season. Liverpool leads with 1 player (25%).
Liverpool1 · 25%
Crystal Palace1 · 25%
Leeds1 · 25%
Arsenal1 · 25%
SQUAD · PL CLUB BREAKDOWN
Where Tunisia's 1 PL player comes from
For FPL managers: if you own any of these clubs' assets, Tunisia's tournament minutes shape your pre-season. Burnley leads with 1 player (100%).
Burnley1 · 100%
ONSIDE VERDICT
Edge to Japan · with confidence
- ·Japan sit #18 in the FIFA world ranking — 26 places clear of Tunisia.
- ·Japan's squad carries 4 Premier League regulars vs Tunisia's 1 — sharper match-fitness coming into the tournament.
REFERENCE · AXIS BREAKDOWN
| Axis | Japan | Tunisia | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Form | 83 | 57 | JPN +26 |
| PL footprint | 18 | 5 | JPN +14 |
| Host edge | 0 | 0 | level |
| Group seed | 75 | 25 | JPN +50 |
| Confed | 50 | 60 | TUN +10 |
| Experience | 60 | 44 | JPN +16 |
OTHER COMPARISONS
HEAD-TO-HEAD · MODEL RATINGS
Japan vs Tunisia
JAPAN
TUNISIA
FORM SCORE
73
40
ATTACK
73
42
DEFENCE
65
30
EXPERIENCE
65
37
SQUAD-STRENGTH BREAKDOWN
Strength by department
JAPAN
- Attack62
- Midfield57
- Defence52
- GK42
TUNISIA
- Attack36
- Midfield31
- Defence26
- GK16
PREVIOUS WORLD CUP ENCOUNTERS
No previous WC encounters
These two haven't met at a World Cup in our 2002-2022 window. Qualifier + friendly history will be added as football-data feed warms up.
Source: openfootball/worldcup.json (CC0). World Cup 2002 → 2022 inclusive.
KEY PLAYERS · BOTH SIDES
The match-defining names
JAPAN
Top-3 by projected xP/90 — these are the players the model rates as match-defining for Japan.
View full Japan squad →TUNISIA
Top-3 by projected xP/90 — these are the players the model rates as match-defining for Tunisia.
View full Tunisia squad →WC MATCHDAY BRIEF · ONE LIST, TWO SEASONS
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