Sweden made an emphatic statement on their World Cup return, thrashing Tunisia 5-1 in a one-sided Group F clash at Estadio BBVA in Monterrey, with Yasin Ayari grabbing a brace either side of a dominant Swedish performance.

It took barely seven minutes for Sweden to find the breakthrough. A clever ball over the top from Victor Lindelof caused panic in the Tunisian defence, forcing goalkeeper Abdelmouhib Chamakh into a moment of hesitation, and Ayari pounced to curl a stunning effort from outside the box into the top corner.

The early goal set the tone for a first half in which Sweden looked comfortably the better side, controlling possession and picking apart Tunisia’s back line at will.

The advantage was doubled on the half-hour mark when Alexander Isak was released behind by Viktor Gyokeres and made no mistake in front of goal, slotting home to put Sweden 2-0 ahead. Tunisia did find a way back into the contest just before the interval, with Omar Rekik finishing off an assist from Hannibal Mejbri to reduce the deficit to 2-1 at half-time and offer some hope of a fightback in the second period.

Any hope of a Tunisian revival was short-lived, however. Gyokeres got in on the scoring himself just after the hour mark, turning provider into goalscorer to restore Sweden’s two-goal cushion and effectively settle the contest at 3-1. As the game wore on, Sweden’s superiority told further, with substitute Mattias Svanberg adding a fourth in the 84th minute to put the result well beyond doubt.

There was a fitting finish for Ayari, who completed his brace deep into stoppage time to make it 5-1. The result carried added significance for the Brighton midfielder, given his Tunisian heritage through his father having shown muted celebrations after his earlier goal,

Ayari was afforded little reason to hold back by the time his second went in, with the contest long since decided.

The emphatic win sees Sweden top Group F after an opening round of fixtures that also produced a dramatic 2-2 draw between the Netherlands and Japan earlier in the day. Tunisia, by contrast, face an uphill task to recover, with Sabri Lamouchi’s side now needing a response when they take on Japan in their next outing, while Sweden will look to build on this momentum against the Netherlands.