Tunisia’s 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign got off to the worst possible start in Group F on Sunday evening, as Sweden tore them apart 5-1 at Monterrey Stadium in an opener that will demand serious soul-searching from the Eagles of Carthage.
The North Africans, who had arrived in Mexico boasting an unblemished qualifying record without conceding a single goal, were exposed from the very first whistle — their defensive fortress crumbling inside seven minutes against opponents of genuine European pedigree.
It was Tunisia goalkeeper Abdelmouhib Chamakh who gifted the opening goal, recklessly clearing into the path of Yasin Ayari, who thundered a finish from distance into the net in the seventh minute. Ayari, who is of Tunisian descent and could have represented the Eagles himself, muted his initial celebrations out of respect — though Tunisia’s players had little reason for such sentiment by the final whistle.
Isak doubled Sweden’s lead on the half-hour mark, the same goalkeeper doing little to redeem himself as the Newcastle striker opened his World Cup account.
Tunisia offered a brief, fragile glimmer of hope just before the interval. Omar Rekik pulled one back with a glancing header on 43 minutes, momentarily sparking talk of a comeback. It proved a false dawn.
Viktor Gyökeres killed the contest on 59 minutes, finishing clinically after Isak turned provider, the two Swedish forwards combining with an ease that Tunisia’s defence could not live with.
The humiliation deepened late on. Substitute Mattias Svanberg swept home just 18 seconds after coming on — the second fastest goal by a substitute in World Cup history since 1966 — with a VAR review confirming the goal stood after Isak was judged to have got a touch to play him onside.
Ayari then delivered the final, crushing blow, blasting an unstoppable second long-ranger into the far corner deep in stoppage time — a goal so spectacular he could not hold back his celebrations.
A visibly shaken Tunisia coach Sabri Lamouchi did not mince his words. “Starting the competition with this bad of a loss is indeed difficult,” he said. “With world-class players like the two Swedish forwards, it’s something that you don’t recover from. We made way too many mistakes. We have our pride. We need to react. We need to give a better image.”
The defeat exposes a glaring contradiction at the heart of Tunisia’s Group F campaign — nine wins from ten CAF qualifying matches, not a single goal conceded throughout, yet completely undone by the first serious European opposition they faced. Questions over the quality of their qualifying group, long whispered, now feel impossible to ignore.
Two Group F matches remain, and Tunisia are not yet out. But the scale of this defeat means the pressure on Lamouchi’s side is already immense. Sweden, meanwhile, sit atop Group F, two points clear of Japan and the Netherlands who drew 2-2 in the group’s other opening fixture.
