Ayari double, Isak and Gyokeres fire Sweden to 5-1 rout of Tunisia

Sweden’s Yasin Ayari scored two sensational goals and Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres also got on the scoresheet as they cruised to a 5-1 World Cup Group F victory over Tunisia on Sunday.

After scraping through to the finals after a dismal qualifying campaign, they responded by scoring five goals in a World Cup match for the first time since 1938 when they defeated Cuba 8-0.

Ayari – the son of a Tunisian father and a Moroccan mother – put Sweden ahead in the seventh minute after goalkeeper Mouhib Chamakh fluffed his lines trying to clear under pressure from Isak, and what followed set the tone for the evening.

The ball fell to Gyokeres, whose shot was blocked, but Ayari picked up the loose ball and blasted home a rocket of a shot to send the yellow-clad fans in the stands into raptures, though the player’s own celebrations were more muted.

Set up to defend and hit Sweden on the break, Tunisia then got a taste of their own medicine as they committed players forward and chased an equaliser on the half-hour mark, only to come undone on the counterattack.

The Swedes won the ball in their own box and played it to Gyokeres, who took it on his chest and instantly released Isak down the left. The striker ran at defender Montassar Talbi before cutting inside and slotting the ball past Chamakh, who should have done better.

The Tunisians did little in the opening half and struggled to recalibrate their game-plan after going behind, but they still managed to pull a goal back before the break, defender Omar Rekik scoring with a superb glancing header that was his side’s first effort on target.

MISCUES

Isak and Gyokeres have both proven to be fearsome forwards individually but there were a number of miscues early in the second half as they struggled to play on the same wavelength.

They eventually clicked again on the hour mark when Isak stole the ball from Ellyes Skhiri and teed up his strike partner to make it 3-1 with a simple finish, and Gyokeres could have added a couple more to his total with some better finishing.

Substitute Mattias Svanberg scored straight after coming off the bench in the 84th minute, and though the goal was initially disallowed for offside, it was allowed to stand after a VAR review.

Ayari then closed the show in stoppage time with another wonder strike, firing a thunderous shot from outside the box that Chamakh was powerless to stop.

This time the midfielder celebrated with abandon as Sweden went to the top of Group F on three points ahead of Japan and the Netherlands, who drew 2-2 earlier.

“It’s football, so you know anything can happen, especially at 2-1, but I thought the boys played with a stability and a calmness throughout the game,” Sweden coach Graham Potter said.

“Obviously, when you concede, there’s always a danger that you get emotional and you forget what you’re meant to do but the boys did it well, and we always thought that, if we could stay solid and compact and defend well, we’ve got two guys up front that can hurt them, and I think we offered that threat all night, really.”

Potter was effusive in his praise for Isak and Gyokeres, despite their occasionally scrappy interplay.

“They haven’t played that much together, so it’s going to get better, I think, the more they play. I thought they worked well for each other, worked hard. It’s nice for them to score goals, this convinces them that they are on the right path, but I thought they were both fantastic.”

Late strike earns Japan a deserved point against the Netherlands

Japan showed their battling qualities to salvage a 2-2 draw with the Netherlands in their World Cup Group F opener on Sunday as Hajime Moriyasu’s side backed up their desire to make an impact at the tournament with a gritty display.

Daichi Kamada was credited with his side’s all-important second goal in the 88th minute when the ball deflected off the Crystal Palace midfielder’s head to beat Bart Verbruggen after Koki Ogawa had powered his header towards goal.

The equaliser was Japan’s second of the match. The Samurai Blue had gone behind to Crysencio Summerville’s curling strike having seen Keito Nakamura cancel out Virgil van Dijk’s 51st-minute opener.

Japan had gone into the match at Dallas Stadium without Wataru Endo, who was withdrawn from the squad due to injury by Moriyasu, but the four-time Asian champions responded to the loss of their influential midfielder with a determined performance.

‘SOLID JOB’

“The players did a solid job of carrying out what we had targeted and prepared for,” said Moriyasu.

“There had been various incidents even before the opening match. But in that first match, there was a real sense of unity.

“Even with unexpected accidents and situations we had not anticipated, I think the players stayed calm and composed and overcame the reality in front of them.”

Japan needed to show their composure from the early stages with Zion Suzuki forced to deny Donyell Malen, the Japan goalkeeper palming the ball over the bar in the third minute.

That early warning jolted Japan into taking control of possession, a move that limited openings for both sides.

Hiroki Ito’s defensive work frustrated Malen in the 34th minute and, from the resulting Tijjani Reijnders corner, Suzuki kept out the forward’s header.

Nakamura almost put Japan in front late in the half, pulling his shot wide of Bart Verbruggen’s right post having been found by Ritsu Doan’s searching cross while, moments later, Ayase Ueda hit the side netting.

DESERVED REWARD

The Netherlands threatened from the start of the second half and earned a deserved reward six minutes after the resumption when Van Dijk scored.

Reijnders’ free kick was headed clear by Doan to Frenkie de Jong and he shuttled possession to Ryan Gravenberch for the Liverpool man to send an inviting cross towards his clubmate, who nodded beyond Suzuki via the inside of the post.

Japan had been second best after the interval but within seven minutes they levelled when Nakamura drove a deflected strike into the bottom corner from Takefusa Kubo’s cutback.

Parity lasted seven minutes as the Dutch reclaimed the lead through Summerville, the West Ham United winger bending a perfectly placed left-foot strike around Suzuki from just inside the area.

Kubo shot over the bar with an effort on the run as Japan sought to respond again and in the dying moments their efforts paid off.

Ogawa powered his header towards goal and, with the ball taking a deflection off the head of the unwitting Kamada, Verbruggen was unable to deny the Japanese a second equaliser.

The result left Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman frustrated at his side’s inability to twice hold onto their lead with the Dutch facing Sweden in their next Group F encounter in Houston on Saturday.

“It’s disappointing,” said Koeman. “You come ahead twice and you don’t end up winning the game, but you shouldn’t underestimate the strength of our opponent. That’s my opinion.”