Ueda's two goals answer the question over Japan's No. 9

Ueda answered for himself

Japan's center-forward spot has been an open question all year. Koki Ogawa came off the bench to snatch the late equalizer against the Netherlands in the opener, the seeded forwards behind the No. 9 shirt run deep, and the debate over who should start it never quite closed. Against Tunisia, Ueda answered with his boots rather than words. His first goal, in the 31st minute, was a striker's piece of craft: a touch to set himself 18 yards out, then a low shot bent past a defender's leg into the bottom-left corner. His second, in the 83rd, was a different skill entirely — drifting unmarked to the far post to glance in Kaishu Sano's right-wing cross. One finish struck, one finish read. A player who had carried questions into the tournament gave the simplest possible reply on its biggest stage.

Keito Nakamura, the source

The win was not built on Ueda alone. Japan's opener arrived inside four minutes, and it came from Keito Nakamura driving into the box on the left, beating his man and pulling the ball back across the face of goal for Daichi Kamada to turn in at the near post. It was Japan's quickest goal of this tournament, and it framed the entire night: Tunisia, who needed a result to stay alive, were forced to chase from the start against a side content to let them come. Japan's first-half numbers told the same story — five shots to one. With Takefusa Kubo missing through a left-knee problem and Shuto Machino unavailable, it was the supporting cast — Nakamura from the left, Sano arriving from the right, Junya Ito rolling in the third past goalkeeper Aymen Dahmen on the hour — that kept the goals coming. Four different threats, not one.

Toward the Sweden decider

Japan reach the final group game on four points with a plus-four goal difference, level with the Netherlands, who beat Sweden 5-1 on the same matchday. The Netherlands sit first on goals scored, Japan second; Sweden stay third on three points and Tunisia are out. That sets up a clean finale on June 26 at 08:00 JST in the Dallas area, with the Netherlands facing Tunisia at the same hour. A draw would all but secure Japan's place in the next round, and a win could lift them to the top of the group. What Tunisia exposed is less about the result than about how it was built: a striker finding form at the right moment, width that keeps manufacturing chances, and a squad that put up four goals without its most-watched attacker on the pitch. The question of Japan's No. 9 looks a lot less like a worry now and a lot more like a strength to carry into the last match.