The Netherlands beats Tunisia 3-1 with a fast start

Netherlands scored in the 3rd minute and added a second just four minutes later, leaving Tunisia chasing the game almost from the kickoff. With the Netherlands controlling 71% of the ball, Tunisia simply couldn't get a foothold, as forwards Cody Gakpo, Donyell Malen, and Brian Brobbey kept switching positions to confuse the Tunisian back line.

The Netherlands fired off 19 shots compared to Tunisia's 10, with six on target versus four. Midfielders Frenkie de Jong and Tijjani Reijnders ran the game with ease, while defenders Virgil van Dijk and Nathan Ake barely had to break a sweat at the back.

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After going into halftime down 2-0, they came out fighting and scored in the 54th minute to make it 2-1, giving their fans a glimmer of hope. Goalkeeper Aymen Dahmen made several big saves to keep his team in it, and forwards Hazem Mastouri and Elias Saad caused problems on the counter-attack. But the Dutch answered quickly, scoring again in the 62nd minute to make it 3-1 and put the game out of reach.

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Tunisia's defenders, including Montassar Talbi, just had too much to deal with against a Dutch side that kept the ball moving fast through midfielder Ryan Gravenberch and overlapping runs from Denzel Dumfries. Interestingly, the game stayed clean from a discipline standpoint, no yellow or red cards for either side, despite how lopsided the play was.

Tunisia also lost 5-1 to Sweden and 4-0 to Japan in their other group games, meaning they've now conceded a lot of goals in every match while scoring just twice all tournament.

For the Netherlands, this was exactly the kind of dominant win they'll want heading into the knockout rounds. Their attack rotated smoothly, their midfield was in total control, and their defense was barely tested.