World Cup Story Feed
World Cup Story Feed
The rainy night in Monterrey, Sweden crushed Tunisia 5 1, with Ayari scoring a brace and Isak contributing one goal and two assists to be named Man of the Match. This is the first time in 88 years since Sweden's 8 0 rout of Cuba in 1938 that they have scored at least five goals in a single World Cup match. Tunisia, making their seventh World Cup appearance, effectively surrendered their fate from the start.
7 minutes.
Yasin Ayari received the ball at the edge of the box. No one within three meters. He lifted his foot, half-volleyed—the ball skimmed the grass, cut through the crowd, and curled inside the far post off the inside of the upright.
Tunisian goalkeeper Aymen Dahmen didn’t even complete his dive before the ball hit the net.
This wasn’t a friendly. It wasn’t a warm-up. It was the opening match of Group F at the 2026 World Cup, Sweden’s first step onto the World Cup stage in four years after missing Qatar entirely. BBVA Stadium in Monterrey, Mexico. A humid 27°C night. Boos and cheers mixed in the stands, with a water break drawing its own round of jeers.
Ayari was born in Stockholm. His father is Tunisian. After smashing that world-class strike in, he didn’t celebrate. No slide, no pointing to the stands. He just jogged back to his own half, head slightly down.
As’s cameras caught that moment of lowered head.
It was respect for his roots. And maybe a bit of sympathy for the opponent.
Sympathy? Sorry, the Swedes weren’t about to show Tunisia any mercy.
30th minute. A counterattack.
Ayari played a through ball that sliced through Tunisia’s slack midfield line. Alexander Isak burst in from the left channel. He shrugged off a Tunisian center-back’s grab, went one-on-one with Dahmen, and slotted it into the far corner—2-0.
Dahmen hesitated for half a second on his rush out. For a Premier League Golden Boot winner, half a second is an eternity.
Isak’s season at Liverpool had been a rollercoaster. A serious injury early on sidelined him for months, and English media never stopped questioning him—was Slot’s system using him wrong? Was he worth £120 million just to be injury-prone? But back on the World Cup stage, the Nordic striker who once scored 20+ in a single season at Real Sociedad was fully back—his movement, his physicality, his composure, all of it.
FIFA’s official fan vote after the match named Isak Man of the Match. 1 goal, 2 assists. Clean and clinical.
But Tunisia wasn’t dead yet.
43rd minute. The last attack before halftime.
From a corner kick, former Hertha Berlin player Omar Rekic shook off his marker in the box and glanced a header. The ball crossed the line before Nordfeldt could save it—1-2.
That was the Carthage Eagles’ only moment of dignity in the match.
Just before the break, Tunisia had hope. During those 15 minutes in the locker room, coach Sabri Lamouchi probably rallied his players: Bite harder in the second half. Steal one more goal. Push it to extra time, then penalties, then the upset…
He didn’t know the second half would be a full-scale massacre.
59th minute.
Tunisian defensive midfielder Ellyes Skhiri got the ball near his own box. Looked up. Tried to pass wide—
His foot slipped.
The ball rolled straight to Viktor Gyokeres like it was bewitched.
The Arsenal striker didn’t hesitate. One touch, a finish—3-1.
L’Équipe’s post-match description was spot-on: This wasn’t a defensive error. It was a defensive self-destruct. Skhiri probably wanted to tear up the grass at that moment.
Who is Gyokeres? A ruthless player in the Premier League and Champions League this season, playing the full 90 in the Champions League final. He was called up to Mexico right after Arsenal’s league title celebrations. He’s the kind of player who keeps defensive midfielders up all night—a threat every time he touches the ball, a foul every time he gets it.
Sweden’s two attacking arrows—Isak and Gyokeres—combined with assists for each other tonight, looking like they’d been partners for a decade at the Emirates.
The second half was entirely Sweden’s rhythm. Possession, passes, shots—all dominating. Tunisia’s energy drained away like water in Monterrey’s humid air.
84th minute.
Potter waved his hand. The substitution board went up: Mattias Svanberg on, replacing someone.
18 seconds.
Svanberg scored.
Isak took the ball on the right, delivered a rabona cross that curved into the far post. Svanberg headed it—the referee’s whistle blew. Possible offside.
VAR stepped in. Replay. Slow motion. The ball was a millimeter onside, and modern technology ruled it valid.
4-1.
18 seconds. A substitute who hadn’t even broken a sweat changed the scoreline. Sweden’s squad depth ran deep.
Potter’s substitution—from the board going up to the goal—took less than 20 seconds. Sweden’s coaching staff managed the players’ condition to perfection.
6th minute of stoppage time.
Ayari got the ball at the edge of the box. Looked up at the goal.
Long shot.
The ball blasted into the top corner like a cannonball. Goalkeeper Dahmen didn’t even react.
5-1.
This time, Ayari celebrated.
A brace, rubbing salt into the wound of his father’s homeland—no, wait. This wasn’t salt. This was him stamping Sweden’s seal on the match. The Athletic later rated this strike as one of the best goals of the World Cup so far, alongside Reyna’s outside-foot curler and Hwang In-beom’s chip.
The final whistle blew.
5-1.
Match stats: Sweden had 13 shots, 7 on target. Tunisia had 6 shots, 2 on target. On both ends of the pitch, it was a clash of two completely different levels.
The last time Sweden scored 5 goals in a single World Cup match was June 12, 1938—an 8-0 demolition of Cuba.
That game happened in pre-WWII France, with Sweden’s forwards battering the Caribbean side like a punching bag. 88 years later, Swedish fans had waited a lifetime for this night.
Remember how this team got here? Qualifiers: 2 wins, 4 losses, bottom of the group. They almost couldn’t even reach North America. They only secured a ticket via the Nations League playoffs, beating Ukraine and Poland.
Before the match, few people gave them a chance.
Head coach Graham Potter? 51 years old, salt-and-pepper beard. The "firing pro" from Chelsea and West Ham, mocked by English media for two seasons as a "PowerPoint coach"—all tactics, no wins. When the Swedish FA picked him up, the world laughed.
5-1. The joke turned into a myth.
Sweden sat at the top of Group F. With Netherlands and Japan drawing 2-2, this overlooked Nordic team quietly claimed the group lead. Defender Victor Lindelöf told FIFA’s official site post-match: "We controlled the game perfectly, both with and without the ball."
Tunisia’s seventh World Cup.
Their best result in the previous six? Third in the group, never advancing past the group stage.
This time, they dug their own grave from the start.
They qualified with zero goals conceded, with Lamouchi drilling defensive discipline into this North African side. But come the World Cup, that discipline vanished.
Goalkeeper Dahmen was directly responsible for the first two goals—hesitating on Isak’s 30th-minute strike. Skhiri’s slip at the 59th minute turned football into hockey. The entire backline crumbled under Sweden’s press, the midfield offered no protection, and the attack was all thunder, no rain.
Lamouchi admitted in the mixed zone: "We made too many mistakes. Against world-class players, those errors are unforgivable." He noted that these mistakes came at key moments when the match was still in the balance, which could have changed everything.
L’Équipe was harsher: "Tunisia’s worst World Cup start ever."
Tunisian media outlets Mosaïque FM and Kawarji are already calling for Lamouchi’s sacking. French outlet Foot Mercato reported that Tunisian fans on social media blasted the French-born coach as a "tour guide"—because in their last three friendlies, they lost to Austria, got crushed 5-0 by Belgium, and got knocked out of the Africa Cup of Nations.
Rekic’s header at the 43rd minute was Tunisia’s only bright spot.
And that’s it.
Lamouchi’s math is simple: beat Japan next, then hope Netherlands cooperate. Otherwise, the seventh World Cup trip ends in a seventh group-stage exit.
After the match, walking into the locker room, Potter did something that gave the whole team chills. He looked each player in the eye and said:
"I love you."
Forward Isak revealed that detail in an interview with a laugh, then quickly pulled back to reality: "We can’t get carried away. This is just the first game."
Cool-headed.
In English football, Potter was a symbol people had used up. Brighton’s "beautiful football" made him a legend. Chelsea’s 31 matches knocked him off the pedestal. West Ham’s relegation battle nailed him to the pillar of shame. Media called him a "PowerPoint coach"—all diagrams, no wins.
Then the Swedish FA picked him up.
Nine months ago, this team—with a qualifying record of 2 wins and 4 losses—looked like they wouldn’t even make the playoffs. After Potter took over, Sweden beat Ukraine and Poland in the Nations League playoffs, and when they grabbed the World Cup ticket, Nordic fans cried—not tears of joy, but tears of "we actually made it."
5-1.
On Monterrey’s grass, Potter stood with his hands in his pockets, quietly watching his players celebrate. No roar. No slide. No Ronaldo-like scream. 51 years old, salt-and-pepper beard. Former York City left-back in England’s fourth tier. Sweden’s football savior.
After the match, he walked into the locker room and said to every player: "I love you."
That might be the gentlest post-match moment of the 2026 World Cup.
L’Équipe interviewed Potter afterward. A reporter asked how he saw the Isak-Gyokeres partnership. The old man said: "They can be a real threat together."
Isak added: "We’re using our energy smartly, conserving it to create danger." He admitted he wasn’t at full physical condition yet—the injury-plagued season at his club left him with a chip on his shoulder, and this win was a big morale boost. Goalkeeper Nordfeldt revealed the team would enjoy the win briefly, then fully focus on their match against Netherlands on Sweden’s Midsummer Day—yes, the Swedes are going to battle the Dutch on their own traditional holiday.
Earlier that night, Netherlands and Japan drew 2-2.
That left Sweden on top of Group F.
Next, Sweden flies to Houston to face Netherlands—that’s the real test. Potter said post-match: "We’re excited. I believe the whole country is with us." But his voice was light, because everyone knows beating Tunisia 5-1 and facing Netherlands are two completely different games.
Isak kept his string tight: "This is just the first match. Stronger opponents are ahead. We should enjoy the moment, but also respect the challenges to come."
A forward line with champion-level depth plus a "veteran" coach with a chip on his shoulder—Sweden’s story is sliding toward an inspirational film. But Netherlands isn’t Tunisia, and Japan isn’t here to be a warm-up act.
Tunisia’s fate is already in others’ hands.
In a post-match interview, a reporter asked Potter if he was satisfied with the result. The old man said: "Satisfied, but only for tonight. Tomorrow I wake up, and it’s a new war."
A miracle that happens once every 88 years can’t be worth just 3 points.
And that Swedish player with Tunisian blood, Ayari—will he stab his father’s homeland’s goal again next time?
See you in Houston.