World Cup: Isak and Gyokeres star as Sweden pummel Tunisia
By Luke Oluoch, June 15, 2026Yasin Ayari opened and capped off a fine start to the World Cup 2026 for Sweden as the European claimed a remarkable 5-1 win over Tunisia in Monterrey, Mexico, on Sunday, June 15, 2026.
The Brighton, Hove, and Albion star was the thorn in the flesh of the team from his father’s birth nation, scoring a double in the five-goal rout of the North African giants as Graham Potter’s side claimed control of their group.
Ayari’s opener
Marking their eight-year wait for a World Cup appearance, Ayari opened the scoring in the seventh minute before Liverpool’s Alexander Isak made it 2-0 at the half-hour mark.
Tunisia’s Omar Rekik halved the deficit before the half-time break as the African nation threatened to come back in the tie.
The encounter was, however, a one-sided affair after the goal, as the Swede took control of proceedings and the action at the goal ends afterwards.
Victor Gyökeres exploited a rare howler from Tunisian Al-Skhairi to bag the hosts’ third goal. The Arsenal star picked the ball from the Liverpool striker near the halfway line before surging forward; he later cut in on his right foot and slotted the ball into the bottom right corner
Late goals
Substitute Mattias Svanberg also joined the scoring party in the 84th minute, scoring within 16 seconds after he came on to make it 4-1.
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The final moment belonged to Ayari again, who sent in an unstoppable stunner from outside the box to cap off the high-scoring encounter.
The attacker elected to mute his celebration this time in a deep sporting moment out of respect for his association with the African nation.
The Swede now sits at the top of Group F following Japan’s draw with the Netherlands in an earlier clash on Sunday, June 14, 2026.
The Oranje, led by Virgil Van Dijk, twice lost the lead to draw the in-form Japan team, who scored in the final minutes of the normal time to snatch a point from the 2026 Cup favourites.