Already eliminated courtesy of back-to-back four-goal defeats, the lack of pressure looked to be benefitting Tunisia early on when Hazem Mastouri got free on the left and his low cross was fired over by Ismaël Gharbi with just over a minute gone. Yet, just a minute later it was a familiar feeling for the North Africans, as Donyell Malen played the ball out to Denzel Dumfries, whose low centre from the right was lashed into his own net by Ellyes Skhiri.
It quickly became 2-0 before the seven-minute mark, when Tijjani Reijnders’ floated free-kick was nodded across goal by Virgil van Dijk for Brian Brobbey to power in for his third goal of the finals.
Leaking goals at one end didn’t stop Tunisia from looking dangerous coming forward, and they would have been right back in it had Anis Ben Slimane not planted his header straight at Bart Verbruggen.
Reijnders clipping the ball wide from a tight angle after being played in by Dumfries meant the Eagles of Carthage reached the first-half hydration break just two behind, but their goal continued to be peppered with Dutch chances after play resumed, as deflections thwarted shots from Dumfries and Ryan Gravenberch.
Aymen Dahmen in the Tunisia goal did well to close Cody Gakpo down and cling on to a Dumfries strike late in the half, but the Oranje lead remained at two at HT.
The second half was delayed owing to Skhiri returning late to the pitch, but eight minutes later his movements were perfectly timed, making a spectacular block to deny Dumfries a certain goal. That seemed to spur Tunisia into life, and they were back in it two minutes on, when Mastouri got free to head home Hannibal Mejbri’s corner.
Yet, hopes of a comeback were cut short just after the hour mark. A Reijnders corner was flicked on at the near post by Jan Paul van Hecke, who notched his first international goal. Manchester City man Reijnders was inches away from turning provider to scorer moments later, lofting the ball over Dahmen only to see it come back off the underside of the bar.
Attempting to avoid a fifth consecutive loss, Tunisia kept plugging away in the last 20 minutes, forcing Verbruggen to tip over a decent try from Hannibal. The three-time finalists racked up more touches in the opposition box late on, but neither Van Dijk nor Memphis Depay could find finishes to improve the tally.
Nonetheless, the wins means the Netherlands remain unbeaten against African sides at the WC, a good omen ahead of meeting Morocco in the Round of 32. Tunisia at least avoided becoming the first side to lose all three World Cup group games by four or more goals.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Jan Paul van Hecke (Netherlands)