- Team form: Sweden have won only two of their last 10 matches, home or away, winning only one of their last five at home.
- Recent form: Tunisia have won one, drawn two and lost two of their last five, including a 1-0 win over Haiti and a 0-0 draw with Canada.
- Away record: The Eagles of Carthage have won just one of their last seven away games, losing three of them.
Potter’s Sweden have improved, but still lack consistency
This Monday's Group F opener between Sweden and Tunisia should be a fascinating tactical battle between a rejuvenated Scandinavian side and a well-disciplined North African team. Graham Potter has instilled a much more expansive, possession-based system in Sweden since he took over in October 2025. His system is fluid and his players are encouraged to rotate positions to both confuse opponents and create overloads.
Tactics
But the best way to describe the Swedish manager's side is that they are a high-tempo, possession-based team with a high-pressing game. They like to get the ball back quickly and make the most of their pace and energy.
Key players
- Emil Forsberg is the creative spark that Sweden can produce from midfield, but Viktor Gyökeres, who has five of Sweden's last 10 goals in his last five appearances, is the talisman up front.
- Alexander Isak offers them an extra dimension to their attack with his ability to play well in tight spaces and his smart movement and link-up play.
Tunisia will set up to frustrate Sweden
Sabri Lamouchi has created a different animal of the Eagles of Carthage since taking over as manager in January 2026. He is a disciplinarian who has made Tunisia a very compact, deep-sitting team that is very well organised.
Aïssa Laïdouni is the anchor in midfield, but offers a lot in terms of ball progression from deep, and Youssef Msakni is their most creative player. He is good on the counter, the set-piece threat and to provide a few pieces of magic to spark his side.
Tunisia have a chance to frustrate Sweden with a disciplined display, but Wahbi Khazri has the experience to get them a goal in this tight game and the talent to punish any sloppiness by Sweden.
Potter’s men can just edge it
Sweden have had a tough run of results recently, winning two, drawing two and losing one of their last five matches. Their 3-2 win over Poland at home was their only World Cup qualifier win as they lost 3-1 away to Norway and were held to a 2-2 home tie by Greece.
Tunisia have been slightly better than Sweden during the same period, winning three, drawing four and losing three of their previous 10 games in all competitions. They did beat Haiti 1-0 away, held Canada to a 0-0 draw and lost 1-0 to Austria in Austria.
Sweden are the favorites to win this game at 1.95 with Tunisia the outsiders at 4.3 and the draw at 3.52. With home advantage and more of the quality in the attacking positions, it seems sensible to take the Swedes to win this group opener.
However, Tunisia are a well-organized, disciplined team and won't give the Swedes an easy time of it, so the Under 2.5 goal line at 1.65 looks a very solid play.
