Group F was supposed to be a chess match. Instead Sweden showed up to the World Cup with their boots laced and turned the Tunisia opener into batting practice. It started early, it got ugly fast, and by the time the dust settled the scoreboard looked like a typo. Yasin Ayari kicked the door in inside 10 minutes with a strike the keeper had no business even being in the same zip code as.
Ayari's 7th-minute rocket sets the tone — the keeper is off his line and it does not matter one bit.
From there it was the Alexander Isak show. The Newcastle striker has been carving Premier League defenders all season and Tunisia got the same treatment on the biggest stage. One touch to settle, one touch to finish, 2-0 in the 29th and Sweden looked like they were going to coast to halftime in cruise control.
Isak makes it look routine for the second.
Tunisia, to their credit, refused to roll over. They punched back right before the half to make it 2-1 and suddenly the sombrero section in the stands had something to scream about. For about 15 minutes of game clock it felt like an actual contest — the kind of swing that has stoolgambling refreshing their live tickets and questioning every life decision that led them to a Sweden -1.5 spread.
Then Viktor Gyokeres reminded everyone why he is the meme-iest, most clinical striker nobody outside of Sporting CP wanted to talk about two years ago. Tunisia's back line completely melted down in the 59th, the ball fell to the Sweden No. 17, and he buried it before pulling out the hands-over-the-mouth Bane celebration that has become his calling card.
Gyokeres cleans up the defensive disaster and breaks out the Bane pose.
The cherry was the most Sweden goal possible — a goalmouth scramble, a flag, a VAR check, and a finish from Svanberg that the booth spent three minutes arguing about. Did Isak get the slightest touch to keep Svanberg onside? The video room said play on, the scoreboard ticked to 4-1 in the 83rd, and Tunisia's night was officially over.
The VAR-upheld 4th goal that finally put the game to bed.
Group F was billed as one of the more wide-open pools in this expanded 48-team field. Sweden just put everyone on notice. Isak and Gyokeres on the same teamsheet is officially a problem, and if this is the level they are operating at in the opener, the rest of the bracket should be taking notes. Tunisia get a do-over in matchday two. Sweden get to count their goal differential.