Sweden made the perfect start to their 2026 World Cup campaign with a 5-1 win over Tunisia at Monterrey Stadium in the early hours of Monday morning (UK time).
Brighton’s Yasin Ayari opened the scoring after just seven minutes with a powerful long-range strike after Tunisia failed to clear efforts from Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres. The two strikers then got to work, each setting up the other for a goal either side of half-time to put the Scandinavians in a commanding position.
Mattias Svanberg put the cherry on top with a late strike just 12 seconds after coming off the bench, a World Cup record. Ayari then added his second brilliant goal from distance with practically the final kick of the game.
Tunisia did manage to pull a goal back just before half-time, with Omar Rekik heading home an excellent cross from Hannibal. However, the North African side were second-best throughout and now have a mountain to climb with the Netherlands and Japan still to play.
Isak and Gyokeres combine in style
Sweden are very lucky to be at this World Cup, sneaking through the playoffs thanks to their Nations League C performance. That came after they finished bottom of their qualification group with no wins and just two points from six matches.
The Blue and Yellow conceded a whopping 12 goals across those six qualification matches and came into the tournament without a clean sheet in any of their last 11 matches across all competitions.
With those defensive frailties in mind, the biggest pre-tournament question surrounding this team was whether or not Graham Potter would be able to strike up an effective partnership between Sweden’s elite strikers, Viktor Gyokeres and Alexander Isak.
The simple answer, on the evidence of this game, is yes.
The Premier League duo dovetailed beautifully in Sweden’s 3-4-1-2 system, sticking close together to get on the end of each other’s knockdowns and flick-ons.
Gyokeres and Isak’s perfect partnership
Potter’s gameplan paid off perfectly on the half-hour mark as Gyokeres received a long ball on his chest with his back to goal, expertly flicking the ball down the line to Isak, who had made a darting run forward. Isak was given far too much space to run into by Tunisian defender Montassar Talbi, cutting inside and taking his shot early to catch goalkeeper Abdelmouhib Chamakh off guard.
Isak is still operating below 100% fitness, and he’s clearly been instructed to conserve energy, with the Liverpool man often seen standing completely still when Tunisia were in possession, making little effort to get involved in the press.
Gyokeres was far more active without the ball. However, it was still an Isak turnover which forced the third goal, winning the ball from the pedestrian Ellyes Skhiri and forcing it to Gyokeres, who made absolutely no mistake with his close-range finish. Liverpool man Isak was credited with another assist on Sweden’s fifth goal.
There is talent elsewhere in this Swedish group. Victor Lindelof is a solid centre-back, and the likes of Benjamin Nygren and Lucas Bergvall offer midfield class. Not to mention Leeds United left-back Gabriel Gudmundsson.
However, it’s the front two who will define their World Cup campaign. They showed more than enough in Monterrey to suggest they can combine to drag Sweden into an unlikely knockout run, even with the Netherlands and Japan still to come.
Tunisia self-destruct
Tunisia entered this match with a starting line-up boasting stars who played in the Premier League, Bundesliga, Ligue 1, Championship and beyond in 2025/26. However, some of their defending was amateurish, and the North African side were their own worst enemy.
Casual and with a complete lack of concentration, Tunisia were miles off the mark here and were punished brutally by two elite strikers.
How Tunisia capitulated against Sweden
- 7′: The first Sweden goal came as the result of a shambolic loss of shape, with Isak too easily able to get behind and latch onto a long ball, before Tunisia then passing up multiple opportunities to clear.
- 30′: The second saw Talbi offer an embarrassingly passive effort to stop Isak racing toward the penalty area, while Chamakh’s attempt to keep the ball out was, frankly, pathetic.
- 59′: The third Swedish strike was total self-destruction, with Skhiri receiving the ball surrounded by opposition players, but moving at a tempo akin to a Sunday morning stroll.
- 84′: The fourth was a simple case of Tunisia falling asleep on a routine set-piece delivery.
- 90+6′: The fifth saw Ismael Gharbi become the latest Tunisian to be dispossessed in his own half, setting the stage for an Ayari stunner.
The problem is, even bigger tests are to come against group favourites the Netherlands and tournament dark horses Japan. The Eagles of Carthage’s third straight World Cup campaign could be over before it ever truly began, and they’ll have nobody else to blame but themselves.
Sabri Lamouchi must inspire rapid and drastic improvements.
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