Sweden opened their 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign with a ruthless 5-1 win over Tunisia in Monterrey, as Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres punished a string of costly defensive mistakes.
Sweden took control inside six minutes. Tunisia goalkeeper Mouhib Chamakh fumbled a clearance and Yasin Ayari reacted first, drilling home from range. Sweden pressed aggressively from the front and forced Tunisia into rushed passes throughout the first half.
Chamakh struggled again on the half-hour mark. The goalkeeper failed to hold Isak’s low strike and the ball slipped into the net for Sweden’s second goal. Tunisia looked unsettled whenever Sweden attacked directly through the middle.
Tunisia pulled one back just before the break when Omar Rekik headed in from close range. That goal briefly gave the North Africans momentum, but Sweden killed the contest early in the second half.
Isak robbed captain Ellyes Skhiri near the edge of the Tunisia box and the loose ball broke kindly for Gyokeres, who smashed his finish past Chamakh to restore Sweden’s two-goal cushion.
Sweden continued to attack with pace and movement. Substitute Mattias Svanberg thought he had added a fourth seconds after entering the pitch, and VAR eventually awarded the goal after officials ruled Isak had touched the original delivery before the finish.
Ayari then capped Sweden’s dominant display deep into stoppage time with his second goal of the night, firing home from distance after another loose Tunisia clearance.
Sweden’s front line stretched Tunisia repeatedly, while Tunisia never recovered from their defensive errors and struggled to cope with Sweden’s pressing intensity.
