Sweden 5-1 Tunisia Stats: Ayari, Isak and Gyökeres Emphatically Announce Sweden’s Return to the World Cup

With their first five-goal effort at the FIFA World Cup since 1938, Sweden are at the top of Group F after defeating Tunisia. Check out the best facts and stats from the match.

Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyökeres starred and Yasin Ayari was at the double as Sweden clicked into gear with a 5-1 rout of Tunisia in Monterrey.

Having seen the Netherlands and Japan draw 2-2 in the Group F opener, Sweden gave themselves a huge chance of reaching the World Cup knockout stages with an emphatic victory.

Ayari, who is of Tunisian descent, got the ball rolling with a thundering finish from distance in the seventh minute.

Tunisia goalkeeper Abdelmouhib Chamakh had opened up the chance for Ayari to strike with a rash attempt at a clearance, and the shot-stopper should have done better when Isak opened his World Cup account on the half-hour mark.

Isak finished from the edge of the box after racing onto Gyökeres’ pass, with Chamakh letting the Liverpool forward’s low effort slip through his grasp.

Tunisia dragged themselves back into the contest before half-time, though, as Omar Rekik headed in from Hannibal Mejbri’s teasing cross.

Yet Tunisia were the architects of their own downfall in the 59th minute. Chamakh rolled it out for Ellyes Skhiri, whose clumsy touch was pounced on by Isak – his strike partner Gyökeres made no mistake with a crisp finish.

It got better for Sweden late on, with substitute Mattias Svanberg netting with his very first touch. The goal was initially disallowed for offside, but given after a VAR review.

Ayari then doubled up with the final kick of the game, hammering in from distance to wrap up a statement victory for Graham Potter’s men.

Sweden Back With a Bang

Sweden failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, and they had to sneak through the play-offs to make this tournament after a dismal qualifying campaign.

Yet Potter has them playing with plenty of confidence, and they turned in the kind of performance they may be capable of backing up in matches to come, given the attacking talent at their disposal.

Early on at least, it didn’t come from the highest quality of chances. The 0.47 combined expected goals in the first half was the lowest in any half of a World Cup match that featured three or more goals since 1966.

But Sweden were extremely clinical, with seven of their total 13 shots hitting the target. They have already scored just one goal fewer than they managed across the entirety of their last World Cup campaign, when they reached the quarter-finals in 2018.

Gyökeres and Isak are the second pair of Sweden teammates to each record a goal and an assist in a World Cup match since 1966, joining Kennet Andersson and Martin Dahlin against Saudi Arabia in 1994.

Svanberg’s strike, meanwhile, is the second fastest goal by a substitute in World Cup history since 1966, behind only Richard Morales’ after 16 seconds for Uruguay vs Senegal in 2002. 

His effort, which was awarded after it was judged Isak got a touch to the initial free-kick, playing Svanberg onside, came just 18 seconds after his introduction. Svanberg is just the third substitute to score for Sweden in the World Cup and the first since Glenn Stromberg against Scotland in 1990.

Our Opta match centre delivers you all the Sweden vs Tunisia stats from their 2026 FIFA World Cup Group F meeting at Monterrey Stadium in Guadalupe, Mexico on 15 June (BST).

The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own match analysis.

Underneath the match centre you can find the official Opta stats on the game as well. 

Sweden vs Tunisia: Selected Post-Match Opta Facts

• Sweden are the second team to score three goals from outside the box in a single FIFA World Cup match since 1966, joining Germany vs Chile in 1962 (also 3). 
• Alexander Isak (1 goal, 2 assists) is the second Swedish player to record a goal and two assists in a FIFA World Cup match since 1966 after Tomas Brolin against Bulgaria in 1994. 
• At 22 years, 251 days old, Yasin Ayari is the third-youngest player to score multiple goals in a match for Sweden at the FIFA World Cup and the youngest since Ralf Edström vs. Uruguay in 1974. 
• Sweden’s five goals in this match are their second most in a FIFA World Cup match after an 8-0 win over Cuba in the quarter-final in 1938.

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