Sweden shine, Germany hit seven on Day 4 of the World Cup
The fourth day of the FIFA World Cup produced plenty of goals and drama, with Germany and Sweden recording emphatic victories, while Japan battled back twice to earn a valuable draw against the Netherlands, reports a Qazinform News Agency correspondent.
In Group E, Germany delivered the most dominant performance of the day, thrashing Curacao 7-1 to strengthen their position in the standings. Ivory Coast also claimed a crucial 1-0 victory over Ecuador, securing three valuable points in a tightly contested group.
Group F saw one of the tournament's most entertaining matches as Japan fought back twice to hold the Netherlands to a 2-2 draw. Dutch captain Virgil van Dijk opened the scoring early in the second half before Keito Nakamura equalized for Japan. Crysencio Summerville restored the Netherlands' lead, but Daichi Kamada's late goal earned the Samurai Blue a deserved point.
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"The players did a solid job of carrying out what we had targeted and prepared for," Japan head coach Hajime Moriyasu said after the match.
Earlier, Sweden launched their World Cup campaign in style with a commanding 5-1 victory over Tunisia in Monterrey. Yasin Ayari scored twice, while Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres also found the net as the Scandinavians moved to the top of Group F. Mattias Svanberg added Sweden's fourth goal before Ayari completed the rout in stoppage time.
Sweden lead Group F with three points, ahead of Japan and the Netherlands, while Tunisia remain bottom after the opening round of matches.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that Côte d’Ivoire secured a dramatic 1-0 victory over Ecuador in their Group E opener at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Substitute Amad Diallo scored the decisive goal in the 90th minute, calmly slotting the ball into the bottom corner to seal all three points for the Elephants at Philadelphia Stadium.
