MONTERREY, MX — Yasin Ayari emerged as the unexpected star of Sweden’s 5-1 World Cup rout of Tunisia with a brace against his father’s country, though coach Graham Potter said the Brighton midfielder isn’t a hidden commodity on the global scene.
Ayari, who was born to a Tunisian father and Moroccan mother in Solna, did not celebrate his first goal, an outstanding half-volley from outside the box, and simply held up his hands as his teammates mobbed him.
His second goal, which came in stoppage time, was also scored from outside the box, but this time Ayari celebrated enthusiastically.
“He’s played a lot of games in the Premier League. It’s not like he’s come from nowhere,” said Potter post-game.
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“But we’ve got a lot of good players, and the challenge is that we have to be a team. We have to find a way that brings out the best in all the players we have, and it’s tough for a coach at the moment to pick.”
At 22 years and 251 days old, Ayari became the third-youngest Swedish player to record a multi-goal game in a World Cup.
Swedish stars Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyökeres also found the back of the net in the eventual statement result at Estadio BBVA.
“Solid team performance that then allowed Alex and Viktor to show their quality, which obviously they did, but you know there was a lot of positives for us in terms of stability defensively,” said Potter. “It’s obviously a good night to start the tournament with. A five-one win is fantastic for us.”
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Regarding the chemistry of Isak and Gyökeres, the coach was also quick to note that their partnership could improve as the tournament progresses.
“They haven’t played together very often. I think it’s about seven times they’ve played together,” said Potter. “I think they’ll get better and better the more they play. I think they complement each other very well, bring different attributes, different qualities individually, and of course they’re top players, but I think together they can be a real, real threat.”
Sweden’s five-goal victory marked their highest-scoring World Cup match since 1938.
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As for Tunisia coach Sabri Lamouchi, he looked dejected after the defeat, which was a less-than-ideal start to the World Cup.
“Well, it’s a difficult loss. It’s painful,” said Lamouchi. “There were some individual mistakes-several, too many of them-and of course you can’t recover from that when the opposing team has so much quality. Five goals. It’s a deep, heavy loss.”
Following Sunday’s match, both sides will return to group play on June 20. While Sweden will face the Netherlands in Houston, Texas, Tunisia will take on Japan at the same Estadio BBVA venue in Monterrey.
