Isak Stars in Sweden's 5-1 Victory Over Tunisia
Alexander Isak arrived at this tournament with questions still hanging over him after a stuttering first season at Liverpool. Ninety minutes later, he walked off as the undisputed star of a statement win that ripped Tunisia’s reputation to shreds and announced Sweden as serious contenders.
This was a demolition. A 5-1 scoreline that told only part of the story.
Ayari strikes early against his roots
The tone was set almost immediately.
Seven minutes in, Tunisia were already scrambling. A frantic sequence in the box saw Mouhib Chamakh twice deny Isak and Viktor Gyokeres, bodies flying everywhere, clearances half-made and half-missed. The ball squirmed loose to Yasin Ayari on the edge of the area.
The Brighton midfielder, Tunisian heritage and all, showed no hint of sentiment. One touch to set, then he lashed a fierce drive low into the corner. No celebration muted, no apology offered. Sweden were in front and flying.
Tunisia had arrived boasting a miserly defensive record from qualifying, a back line that prided itself on discipline and organisation. Within half an hour, that image lay in pieces.
Isak slices through Tunisia
The second goal came like a punch on the break.
Sweden sprang forward from deep, and suddenly Isak was in space down the left. He drove at his marker, gliding rather than sprinting, then cut inside with a sharp shift of the hips that left the Tunisian defence chasing shadows.
From there, it was all quality. He opened his body and curled a precise finish into the far corner, beyond a helpless goalkeeper. One smooth motion, one cold finish. The Liverpool forward had his goal, and Tunisia had a full-blown problem.
Sweden were ruthless, direct, and confident. Every time Isak received the ball between the lines, panic rippled through the Tunisian back four.
Rekik offers Tunisia brief hope
Just when it looked like the North Africans might be swept away before the break, they found a lifeline.
A rare lapse from the Swedish defence gifted Tunisia a route back. Hannibal Mejbri, one of the few Tunisian players showing real composure in possession, delivered a teasing cross into the area. Omar Rekik rose above his marker and powered a header home.
It was a classic centre-back’s goal: timing, strength, and a thudding finish. Suddenly, at 2-1, the mood shifted. Tunisia jogged down the tunnel with something to cling to, a glimmer of belief that the game might yet tilt back their way.
It didn’t.
High press, higher punishment
Any notion of a comeback died just before the hour.
Sweden pushed up aggressively, hunting in packs. Isak led the charge, snapping at the heels of Tunisia captain Ellyes Skhiri on the edge of the box. Under pressure, Skhiri crumbled, coughing up possession in a disastrous area.
The loose ball broke perfectly for Gyokeres. The Arsenal striker took a touch, steadied himself, and finished with icy calm to restore Sweden’s two-goal cushion. One mistake, brutally punished. Tunisia’s resistance, such as it was, snapped.
From that moment, Sweden played like a side that knew they were in complete control.
They knocked the ball around with swagger. The passes were sharper, the runs more daring. Isak drifted into pockets, linking play, dragging defenders out of position. Tunisia, stretched and exhausted, could no longer live with them.
Svanberg and Ayari pile on the pain
The fourth goal arrived with a touch of cruelty.
Mattias Svanberg had barely stepped onto the pitch when the ball found its way to him in the area. Isak, again at the heart of it, produced a subtle flick that wrong-footed the defence and slipped Svanberg into space. The substitute reacted instantly, turning the ball home.
The assistant’s flag went up, but the celebration only paused. VAR showed that Isak’s deft touch had actually played Svanberg onside. The goal stood. Tunisia’s shoulders slumped.
Sweden weren’t done.
Deep into stoppage time, Ayari pounced again. A loose ball dropped invitingly and the midfielder reacted quickest, driving home his second of the night to complete the rout. A 5-1 scoreline, brutal and emphatic, underlined the gulf in class.
Group F blown open
By the final whistle, Sweden sat comfortably on top of Group F, three points clear after the Netherlands and Japan had shared a draw. Graham Potter’s team had not just won; they had made a statement about how they intend to navigate this tournament.
Tunisia, by contrast, now stare at an uphill climb to keep their knockout hopes alive. Their proud defensive record has been dismantled in one evening, their margin for error gone.
Next comes a heavyweight clash: Sweden against the Netherlands on June 20, a meeting that could go a long way to deciding who finishes first in the group. The Dutch, having already dropped points, know they cannot afford another misstep.
On the same day, Tunisia face Japan in what already feels like a must-win contest to avoid an early exit.
Isak, meanwhile, heads into that showdown with the Netherlands as the man everyone is talking about. After this kind of performance, how could it be anyone else?
