In Brief
- Sweden won 5-1 against Tunisia in their Sunday night Group F match at Guadalupe, Mexico.
- Earlier, Germany thrashed World Cup debutants Curaçao and Netherlands and Japan drew.
Yasin Ayari recorded a brace, Alexander Isak had one goal and two assists, and Viktor Gyokeres recorded a goal and an assist to help Sweden cruise to a 5-1 victory over Tunisia on Sunday night in World Cup Group F play at Guadalupe, Mexico.
Mattias Svanberg also scored as Sweden took advantage of some sloppy play by Tunisia to win the opening match for both squads.
Omar Rekik scored for Tunisia, who took just two shots from inside the box.
Sweden is the lone unbeaten team in Group F. Japan and the Netherlands played to a 2-2 tie earlier Sunday.
Sweden scored twice in the first 30 minutes to take control of the match.
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The first strike, coming in the seventh minute, was set up by Victor Lindelof's long pass upfield. Tunisia goalkeeper Mouhib Chamakh came way out of his area to try to eliminate the opportunity but was unsuccessful and Gyokeres took a left-footed shot that was cleared away by Tunisia's Montassar Talbi.
The ball caromed beyond the box to Ayari, who sent a right-footed rocket toward the net with only defender Mohamed Amine in the path. Ayari's shot sailed over the head of Amine and into the net.
In the 30th minute, a counterattack saw Isak receive the ball on the left flank. He maneuvered around Talbi and sent a hard right-footed ground shot that hit off the arm of a diving Chamakh en route to the back of the net and a 2-0 lead.
Tunisia got on the board in the 43rd minute when Hannibal Mejbri delivered a stellar cross that Rekik was able to flick his head on and sent it into the net.
Sweden regained a two-goal lead in the 59th minute due to a mistake in the Tunisia end.
Chamakh lackadaisically sent an underhanded rolling pass toward Ellyes Skhiri that Isak. He tapped it over to Gyokeres, who sent a right-footed shot into the net to make it 3-1.
Svanberg scored off a free kick in the 84th minute. He was initially ruled to be offside but a review displayed that Isak had tipped the ball with his foot before it got to Svanberg — eliminating any offside — and the goal was restored.
Another Tunisia giveaway gave Ayari a chance in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage play and he drilled a right-footer into the top left corner.
Sweden will next face the Netherlands on Saturday in Houston. Later that night, Tunisia will meet Japan in Guadalupe, Mexico.
Ecuador lose to Cote D'Ivoire
Meanwhile, Côte d'Ivoire will take on four-time World Cup winners Germany in their next match after defeating Ecuador in their World Cup opener on Monday.
Côte d'Ivoire's Amad Diallo scored in the 90th-minute to secure the 1-0 in their Group E match at Philadelphia Stadium.
Despite three close calls, including hitting the crossbar twice, Ecuador couldn't find the net against the West African side, who have returned to the World Cup for the first time since 2014.
The match was open and fairly even. Ecuador, who enjoyed the majority of the support from the 68,000-strong crowd, looked strong before Manchester United forward Diallo's goal.
Their best chance after halftime came in the 68th minute on Gonzalo Plata's hard shot from about 20 metres out that was parried away by goalkeeper Yahia Fofana.
Côte d'Ivoire will face Germany in their next match, while Ecuador will take on Curaçao. Both matches are on Sunday morning AEST.
Japan and the Netherlands draw
Japan's Daichi Kamada scored in the 88th minute to salvage a 2-2 draw against the Netherlands in their Group F match.
Playing before a crowd of 69,285 in Texas, the match was a slow burn in the first half, before taking a thrilling turn in the second.
Netherlands skipper Virgil van Dijk scored with a fine header, only for Keito Nakamura to quickly level, before winger Crysencio Summerville's delicious curled finish into the bottom corner just after the hour.
The Dutch looked like they would hold on, but Japan levelled at the death with Crystal Palace midfielder Kamada credited with the goal after a deflection.
Curaçao falls to Germany in World Cup debut
Germany beat Curaçao 7-1 in their Group E match at Houston Stadium in Texas.
Germany's Felix Nmecha scored the tournament's fastest goal so far after just six minutes. Curaçao's first and only goal was a 15m shot from Livano Comenencia in the 21st minute — earning the loudest cheer from the 68,000-strong crowd.
Germany was back in front after 38 minutes, after a header by Nico Schlotterbeck.
Kai Havertz slotted a penalty in first-half stoppage time to give Germany side a comfortable lead. They continued where they left off after the break, with Jamal Musiala, Nathaniel Brown and Deniz Undav all finding the next before Havertz rounded off the win with his second in the 88th minute.
German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer also made history, becoming the oldest player in a German side at a major tournament. At age 40, Neuer overtook the previous record holder, Lothar Matthäus.
Germany's coach Julian Nagelsmann said he was "very satisfied' with the win.
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"It took us a few minutes to get back into the game after they equalised," he said.
"I’m very satisfied with us scoring seven goals and our performance for the most part. A winning start is always important, and we’re glad we managed it."
Nagelsmann praised Curaçao, saying he's "curious" to see how they'll fare in the group.
Curaçao made history with their World Cup debut — they're the smallest country by population and land size to compete in the tournament.
Curaçao manager Dick Advocaat, the oldest coach in World Cup history at 78, said that despite the outcome, the team can still be proud.
"We expected to do more against Germany, but they were too strong," he said.
"We conceded three easy goals and 4-1 would have been a better score.
"Despite this 7-1 outcome, the joy of the fans is fantastic. This is not a disgrace; we can still be proud. We still have two games to go, and those could end differently.
"The players will not be downcast; it was still great to play in this game."
Group F contenders Sweden and Tunisia will play at Mexico Stadium at 12pm AEST.
— With additional reporting by Reuters and AFP.
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