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The Carthage Eagles continue to crumble
It took the Netherlands just seven minutes to extend their lead over Tunisia to two, but the start was much harsher for the Carthage Eagles when they joined the Arabs’ own-goal streak in the third round of the 2026 World Cup group stage, even though Tunisia had already lost their hopes of qualification after defeats in the first two rounds.
The shock came too early. In the third minute, Elias Al-Sakhiri tried to clear the ball in the penalty area, but he accidentally deflected it into his country’s goal, giving the Netherlands the lead and becoming the last Arab player to score an own goal in the current World Cup.
⚽️ Holland take the lead thanks to a mistake by Elias Al-Sakhiri’s own goal into his country’s national team goal.#WorldCup2026 |: #WorldCup2026 |: #World Cup#FIFAWorldCup2026 |: #fifaworldcup |: #beINWC26 pic.twitter.com/PkU5fNR4af
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) June 25, 2026
The Dutch team did not give the opponent a chance to catch their breath. Just three minutes later, Virgil van Dijk sent a smart pass to Brian Brobie, who finished the attack with a direct shot into the net to claim the second goal in the 7th minute, turning the opening minutes into a new nightmare for the Tunisian team.
⚽️ The Netherlands doubled their lead through Brian Broby#WorldCup2026 |: #WorldCup2026 |: #World Cup#FIFAWorldCup2026 |: #fifaworldcup |: #beINWC26 pic.twitter.com/LeVqR6v53p
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) June 25, 2026
With Al-Sakhiri’s goal, the Arabs continued the “friendly fire” series that has become one of the most famous events of the 2026 World Cup, after previous goalscorers from Egypt’s Mohamed Hani, Iraq’s Ayman Hussein, Jordan’s Yazan Al Arab, Qatar’s Mohamed Al-Manai and Hassan Timbukti in the second round against Saudi Arabia.
The irony is that in the first two rounds alone, the Arab teams equaled the total number of own goals scored in all their previous World Cup appearances, which was five before Al-Sakhiri scored the sixth goal.
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