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Sweden started its 2026 FIFA World Cup run with a 5-1 win over Tunisia in Group F on Sunday at Monterrey Stadium in Mexico, taking an early lead in the group.
Yasin Ayari put Sweden ahead in the seventh minute with a shot from outside the box after a defensive mistake. Alexander Isak made it 2-0 in the 30th minute, breaking down the left and scoring past goalkeeper Mouhib Chamakh.
Tunisia got a goal back in the 43rd minute when Omar Rekik headed in a cross from Hannibal Mejbri, making the score 2-1.
Sweden went up by two goals again in the 59th minute. After Ellyes Skhiri lost the ball near the box, Isak passed to Viktor Gyokeres, who scored to make it 3-1.
Substitute Mattias Svanberg scored Sweden’s fourth goal in the 84th minute after a VAR check confirmed he was onside. Ayari finished the scoring in stoppage time with his second goal from outside the box, making it 5-1 at 90+6.
Khedira got the only yellow card of the match in the 54th minute. Argentine referee Yael Falcon Perez was in charge, with Maximiliano Del Yesso and Facundo Rodriguez as assistants.
Tunisia did not let in any goals during qualifying, becoming the first team to do so before the tournament. Still, they have never made it past the group stage at a World Cup. Tunisia made history in 1978 as the first African team to win a World Cup match, beating Mexico.
Sweden reached the quarter-finals at the 2018 World Cup in Russia but did not qualify for the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
Also in Group F on Sunday, Japan and the Netherlands tied 2-2.
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