Isak, Gyökeres and Ayari Shine as Sweden Crush Tunisia 5-1

Sweden delivered one of the most emphatic performances of the 2026 FIFA World Cup so far, crushing Tunisia 5-1 in Monterrey to move to the top of Group F and significantly boost their chances of reaching the knockout stages.

The Scandinavians, appearing at the World Cup after missing out on the 2022 edition, produced a clinical display inspired by Alexander Isak, Viktor Gyökeres and Yasin Ayari.

Ayari, who is of Tunisian descent, opened the scoring in spectacular fashion after just seven minutes, unleashing a thunderous strike from distance following a poor clearance attempt by Tunisia goalkeeper Abdelmouhib Chamakh.

Sweden doubled their advantage on the half-hour mark when Isak raced onto a pass from Gyökeres and fired a low effort from the edge of the box. Chamakh appeared well-positioned to stop the shot but allowed it to slip through his grasp and into the net.

Tunisia responded before halftime through Omar Rekik, whose well-timed header from Hannibal Mejbri’s inviting cross reduced the deficit and briefly revived his side’s hopes.

However, Sweden regained full control after the restart.

A costly mistake by Tunisia in the 59th minute proved decisive when Ellyes Skhiri lost possession following a pass from his goalkeeper. Isak capitalised immediately before setting up strike partner Gyökeres, who finished clinically to restore Sweden’s two-goal cushion.

The floodgates opened late in the contest.

Substitute Mattias Svanberg scored with his first touch only 18 seconds after entering the pitch. Although the effort was initially ruled out for offside, a VAR review confirmed the goal after determining that Isak’s touch had played Svanberg onside.

The goal made Svanberg only the third substitute ever to score for Sweden at a World Cup and the first since Glenn Strömberg in 1990.

Ayari then completed a memorable evening with the final kick of the match, hammering home another long-range effort to seal a commanding 5-1 victory.

The result marked Sweden’s first five-goal performance at a FIFA World Cup since 1938 and underlined the growing confidence within Graham Potter’s side.

The victory places Sweden at the summit of Group F ahead of Japan and the Netherlands, who earlier played out an entertaining 2-2 draw.

With attacking talents such as Isak and Gyökeres leading the line, Sweden have now firmly announced themselves as serious contenders to progress deep into the tournament.