Sweden made a commanding start to their 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign with a dominant 5-1 victory over Tunisia at Monterrey Stadium.
The emphatic triumph saw Graham Potter’s side move to the top of Group F, two points ahead of Japan and the Netherlands after their 2-2 draw in Dallas.
Sweden made a dream start through Yasin Ayari in the seventh minute. The midfielder, whose father was born in Tunisia, struck a superb long-range effort to give his side an early advantage.
The Swedes doubled their lead in the 30th minute when Alexander Isak finished clinically after a brilliant turn and assist from strike partner Viktor Gyokeres.
Tunisia responded before the interval as Omar Rekik headed home a pinpoint cross from Hannibal Mejbri to score his first international goal and reduce the deficit to 2-1.
However, the second half belonged entirely to Sweden. Isak’s relentless pressing forced a mistake from Ellyes Skhiri, allowing Gyokeres to pounce and fire home Sweden’s third goal in the 59th minute.
Substitute Mattias Svanberg added further gloss to the scoreline in the 84th minute before Ayari completed his brace deep into stoppage time, wrapping up a memorable opening-night victory for Sweden.
The result gives Sweden a major boost in the race for the knockout stages and underlines the attacking threat of the Isak-Gyokeres partnership, which proved too much for Tunisia to contain.
For Tunisia and head coach Sabri Lamouchi, the heavy defeat leaves them with significant work to do ahead of their remaining group fixtures as they seek to keep their World Cup hopes alive.
