New Delhi, June 26 -- KANSAS CITY - Denzel Dumfries had touched the ball exactly once before the crowd at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium had even settled. His first real contribution was a low, hard cross into the box that Ellyes Skhiri did not so much redirect as deflect into his own net. Three minutes into the tournament's penultimate group stage day, Tunisia were a goal down. Four minutes later, Brian Brobbey made it two. That was the World Cup, over, for an African team that arrived here with legitimate aspirations and left without a point.

What made the opening burst lethal was not just the speed but the ease. Dumfries exploited the right channel almost immediately, and Skhiri's body position while attempting a difficult recovery a...