Sweden Dominates Tunisia 5-1 with Isak's Brilliance
Alexander Isak arrived at this tournament with questions still hanging over him after a bruising first year at Liverpool. Ninety minutes later, he walked off as the face of a Sweden side that suddenly looks every inch a contender.
This was a statement. A 5-1 demolition of a Tunisia team that had prided itself on defensive steel in qualifying, ripped apart by the pace, precision and relentlessness of Graham Potter’s side – with Isak at the heart of almost everything.
Ayari strikes early against his roots
The tone was set inside seven minutes.
Tunisia, organised and compact on paper, were shredded in reality by a frantic Swedish surge. Mouhib Chamakh twice flung himself in front of efforts from Isak and Viktor Gyokeres in a scrambled sequence, but the ball wouldn’t leave the danger zone. It broke to Yasin Ayari on the edge of the box and the Brighton midfielder needed no second invitation.
One touch to set, one vicious drive. Low, true, and past the goalkeeper before he could plant his feet.
Ayari, who has Tunisian heritage, offered no hesitation and no sentiment. It was a cold, clinical strike, and it ripped open a game Tunisia had hoped to suffocate.
From there, Sweden smelled blood.
Isak’s solo masterpiece
Tunisia came into the tournament boasting a proud defensive record from qualifying. Within half an hour, that reputation lay in pieces.
Sweden’s second goal arrived like a counter-punch from nowhere. Tunisia lost the ball high up the pitch and suddenly Isak was surging down the left flank, green grass in front of him and yellow shirts flooding forward in support.
He barely needed them.
The Liverpool forward drove at his marker, feinted inside, and with one smooth, gliding movement left the Tunisian defence chasing shadows. The finish matched the run: a measured, curling effort bent into the far corner, beyond a despairing dive.
It was the kind of goal that announces a player’s arrival at a tournament. A reminder of why Liverpool invested so heavily, and why Sweden are building their attack around him.
Tunisia looked rattled. Sweden, by contrast, began to play with a freedom and confidence that oozed through every pass.
Rekik offers Tunisia a lifeline
Just when it felt like Sweden might run away with it before half-time, Tunisia found a foothold.
A rare Swedish lapse at the back invited pressure, and the African side finally made it count. Hannibal Mejbri, one of Tunisia’s more composed figures on the ball, delivered a teasing cross into the area. Omar Rekik attacked it with conviction, rose highest and powered his header home.
2-1, right on the cusp of the interval.
For a brief moment, the dynamic shifted. Tunisia jogged towards the tunnel with a flicker of belief, Sweden glancing at one another, aware that dominance on the ball had been undercut by a single, well-taken chance.
Any notion of a comeback, though, would not survive the hour mark.
High press, high price: Gyokeres restores control
The pressure finally told.
Sweden emerged for the second half with the same aggressive intent, snapping into challenges and hunting in packs high up the pitch. Tunisia tried to play their way out from the back once too often, and this time their captain paid the price.
Ellyes Skhiri, usually so assured, found Isak right on top of him on the edge of the area. The Swedish forward harried him, forced the mistake, and the loose ball spilled perfectly into the path of Gyokeres.
The Arsenal striker stayed ice-cool. One touch to steady himself, one clinical finish to widen the gap and restore Sweden’s two-goal cushion in the 59th minute.
That goal broke Tunisia’s resistance. It also settled any lingering Swedish nerves. From there, Potter’s team started to look not just dangerous, but ruthless.
Svanberg’s instant impact, VAR drama, and Ayari’s late flourish
With Tunisia stretched and chasing shadows, Sweden began to enjoy themselves.
Potter turned to his bench and introduced Mattias Svanberg. The midfielder needed only seconds to leave his mark. Sweden carved open Tunisia again, the ball fizzed into the box, and Isak produced a deft, subtle flick that wrong-footed the defence.
Svanberg reacted first, turning the ball home from close range.
The assistant’s flag went up. For a moment, Tunisia thought they had been spared. But the replay told a different story: Isak’s touch had actually played Svanberg onside. VAR stepped in, the goal stood, and Sweden’s lead stretched to 4-1.
By now, it was a procession.
Still, Ayari wasn’t finished. Deep into stoppage time, Tunisia failed to clear their lines and the ball broke loose once more to the Brighton man. He pounced, struck cleanly again, and completed the 5-1 scoreline his side’s dominance deserved.
Two goals for Ayari, a masterclass from Isak, and a swaggering team performance that will not go unnoticed by the rest of the tournament.
Group F blown open
The result sends Sweden clear at the top of Group F, three points ahead after the Netherlands and Japan cancelled each other out in their opener. Potter’s side now hold the early advantage, and they’ve done it with a performance that looked every bit as convincing as the scoreline suggests.
Next up is a very different kind of test: the Netherlands. A wounded heavyweight after dropping two points, and a team that cannot afford another misstep if they want to fight for first place.
Tunisia, meanwhile, stand on the brink. Their proud qualifying record now feels a distant memory, and they head into a crucial clash with Japan knowing that defeat would all but end their knockout hopes.
Sweden have announced themselves. The question now is whether this was a spectacular one-off, or the opening chapter of a serious tilt at the latter stages.
