Tunisia vs Japan Bet Builder Tips: Samurai Blue to put the Eagles of Carthage to the sword

| Saturday 20th June 2026, 15:00

Saturday 20th June 2026, 15:00

Tunisia vs japan bet builder tips sunday 21 june 2026

Tunisia and Japan are both looking for their first win in Group F of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but it's the former who are more desperate for points having lost their opening match of the tournament, with the latter likely content with their draw.

Below are my Tunisia vs Japan Bet Builder Tips ahead of this meeting between the two teams at the Estadio BBVA in Monterrey, Mexico (10pm local, 5am BST, BBC One).

Tunisia vs Japan Bet Builder Tips

Match Result - Japan
Player 1+ Shots on Target (Sub Switch) - Keito Nakamura (JPN)
Player 2+ Shots (Sub Switch) - Hannibal Mejbri (TUN)
Player 1+ Shots (Sub Switch) - Omar Rekik (TUN)

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*odds correct at time of publishing

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Match Result - Japan

Japan competed admirably against the Netherlands, exchanging four goals in a 2-2 draw to extend their unbeaten run to eight games, six of which they have won. The Samurai Blue lost 2-0 in a friendly to the USA in September before embarking on a six-match win streak that included victories over Brazil (3-2) and England, the latter at Wembley, and they showed real strength last Sunday to come back twice against De Oranje.

Tunisia, on the other hand, suffered a beating at the hands of Sweden, losing 5-1 to extend their winless run to four games (D1, L3). The Eagles of Carthage haven't scored since beating Haiti 1-0 in March, drawing 0-0 with Canada in April and losing both warm-up matches earlier this month to Austria (0-1) and Belgium (0-5).

Sabri Lamouchi paid the price for Tunisia's rotten form, with Herve Renard announced as his replacement in the days following that heavy defeat to Sweden.

Given the short time Renard has had with his new players, and the quality in the Japanese ranks, I'm happy to back the Samurai Blue for all three points here.

Player 1+ Shots on Target (Sub Switch) - Keito Nakamura (JPN)

Stade Reims winger Keito Nakamura enjoyed a prolific 2025/26 campaign in Ligue 2, scoring 14 goals in 29 appearances (28 starts), including a hat-trick on the final day of the season in a 5-2 victory over Pau.

The 25-year-old appeared in one of Japan's warm-up games, the 1-0 win over Iceland, and while he failed to get on the scoresheet, he racked up four efforts at goal, with one hitting the target.

Nakamura recorded three shots in Japan's opening Group F match with the Netherlands last week, scoring with his second, and he looks a good bet to at least force the Tunisia goalkeeper into a save.

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Sub Switch

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Tunisia vs Japan Odds

Player 2+ Shots (Sub Switch) - Hannibal Mejbri (TUN)

Former Manchester United midfielder Hannibal Mejbri, now plying his trade at Burnley, was responsible for one of the six shots taken by Tunisia against Sweden, missing the target with a 52nd-minute free-kick.

The 23-year-old, who averaged 1.4 shots per 90 in the 2025/26 Premier League season, tried his luck three times in his country's 1-0 friendly defeat to Austria on 1 June, showing that he's not afraid to take aim, and with Tunisia likely chasing goals at the Estadio BBVA, he looks a good bet to record at least two shots.

Player 1+ Shots (Sub Switch) - Omar Rekik (TUN)

Omar Rekik scored Tunisia's only goal of the game against Sweden, heading in a couple of minutes before half-time to make it 2-1 and offer his side hope, only for the Blagult to hit three without reply after the interval.

The Maribor centre back only averaged 0.4 shots per game in the 2025/26 PrvaLiga, Slovenia's top division, but in his country's 5-0 hammering by Belgium on 6 June, he saw two right-footed efforts miss the target, meaning he has now recorded three shots across his last two appearances.

Japan conceded a headed shot to three Dutch defenders, Jan Paul van Hecke, Micky van de Ven and Virgil van Dijk, last Sunday, with the latter opening the scoring, and the Samurai Blue look vulnerable from corners.

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