Isak and Ayari Shine as Sweden Thrash Tunisia in World Cup Opener

Alexander Isak marked his first World Cup appearance with a goal as Sweden put five past Tunisia in a commanding opening group stage win in Monterrey.

The Liverpool forward, who has struggled with injuries since his £125m move to Anfield in September, showed no sign of any rustiness as he finished powerfully into the bottom corner after a driving run from the left on 30 minutes.

But Sweden were already ahead by then. Yasin Ayari had set them on their way after just seven minutes, rifling a shot into the top corner following some sloppy defending from Tunisia. The 22-year-old Brighton midfielder, who made his senior debut while on loan at Coventry City in 2023, refused to celebrate after scoring against the country of his father's birth, becoming Sweden's youngest World Cup scorer since Tomas Brolin in 1990.

Isak's goal came after a neat link-up with Viktor Gyokeres, the Arsenal forward holding off his marker on the halfway line before sliding the ball into Isak's path.

Tunisia gave themselves a lifeline two minutes before half-time when Omar Rekik headed home from a Hannibal Mejbri free kick to make it 2-1.

But Sweden were ruthless after the break. Isak turned provider on the hour mark to set up Gyokeres, and then substitute Mattias Svanberg scored just 12 seconds after coming on, reportedly the fastest goal by a substitute in World Cup history.

Ayari rounded off the scoring with his second long-range strike of the night to complete a five-star display and send Graham Potter's side to the top of Group F.

Sweden next face the Netherlands at Houston Stadium on 20 June, with kick-off at 18:00 WAT. Tunisia take on Japan later that day in Monterrey, with that game getting underway at 05:00 WAT on 21 June.