Just one game into the World Cup, and Sweden is now in full control of Group F.
Sweden rolled to a commanding 5-1 win over Tunisia on Sunday night in Monterrey Stadium in Mexico to open the World Cup. That, thanks to a draw on the other side of the group earlier in the day, has given Sweden the early lead in the group.
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The blowout win, thanks to two goals from Yasin Ayari, marked the first time since the 1938 tournament that Sweden managed five goals in a World Cup match.
Sweden wasted little time in the match Sunday night. The Swedes jumped out to a 2-0 lead after a dominant 30 minutes or so in the first half while controlling the pace completely.
Ayari got them on the board first with a deep shot in just the seventh minute. He could have suited up for Tunisia, too, as his father is from the African nation. But he opted to stick with Sweden, where he was born.
Alexander Isak added another one for Sweden after he broke open up the left side of the field with ease.
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But in the final minutes of the half, Sweden left the door open and started allowing Tunisia room to work on the other end of the field. Omar Rekik delivered a perfect header for Tunisia’s first goal of the World Cup just before the break, suddenly making it a one-goal match at the half.
Though Tunisia had a few good looks early in the second half, Viktor Gyökeres took advantage of a mistake and scored in the 59th minute after stealing the ball away right in front of the goal. That restored Sweden’s two-goal lead quickly in the second half.
Sweden added two more for good measure in the final minutes, first when Mattias Svanberg got one in on his first touch of the match. That goal stood after a replay review, too, and was more than enough to secure the three-goal win.
Then right before the match ended, Ayari drilled another one in from distance that left Tunisia’s goalie looking incredibly defeated down on the field. That completed the four-goal win.
Sweden is now in the lead in Group F, thanks to the draw in Dallas between Japan and the Netherlands earlier on Sunday.
Sweden will take on the Netherlands next on Saturday. Tunisia, now in desperate need of a win, will square off with Japan on Saturday.
