Expect this FIFA World Cup clash with our Sweden vs Tunisia predictions and previews. Which team will mark the start of group F?
Sweden vs Tunisia: the key points
- The Opta supercomputer places Graham Potter’s Sweden among the favorites before kick-off, with a probability of victory of 52.3% against 22.7% for Tunisia.
- Sunday’s clash marks the first ever meeting between these two teams in the World Cup, with the previous four meetings taking place in friendly matches.
- Sweden have lost only two of their first 12 World Cup matches (5 wins, 5 draws) and are undefeated in each of their last four matches (1 win, 3 draws).
Sweden will attempt to make a gentle return to the World Cup final when they face Tunisia in the Group F opener on Sunday at the Estadio Monterrey.
The Swedes are playing in their 13th World Cup, and their first since 2018, when they reached the quarter-finals before a 2-0 defeat to eventual semi-finalists England.
It’s a changed Swedish team that returns to the world stage this time, with Alexander Isak, Viktor Gyökeres, Lucas Bergvall and Anthony Elanga among the main talents.
Despite a turbulent qualifying campaign, Graham Potter’s side will arrive in Guadalupe with confidence, having progressed past the group stage at each of their last four World Cups.
They may also be hoping to repeat a piece of history at this year’s tournament – co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico – as Sweden last reached the semi-finals at the 1994 World Cup, also hosted in the United States.
But as their qualifying journey showed, it won’t be easy. Sweden finished last in their qualifying group, behind Switzerland, Kosovo and Slovenia, and only reached the play-offs thanks to their UEFA Nations League ranking (34).
From there, Potter’s appointment helped revive their campaign, with the Swedes securing 3-1 and 3-2 victories over Ukraine and Poland respectively to book their place in the final.
This will only boost the confidence of Sweden, who have lost just two of their first 12 World Cup matches (W5 D5) and are impressively undefeated in each of their last four (W1 D3), with the last such defeat coming in a 2-1 loss to Brazil in 1990.
Tunisia, meanwhile, have already placed themselves among the elite as they prepare for their seventh World Cup appearance, and more pertinently, their third in a row.
This is the longest streak of active World Cup participation among African nations, alongside Morocco and Senegal. However, the Tunisians never made it past the first round, with only Scotland (eight) having participated further in the tournament without making it.
Tunisia, however, was the first African team to win a World Cup match when they beat Mexico 3-1 in 1978.
Although they will still be considered underdogs on Sunday and throughout the tournament, Sabri Lamouchi’s team should not be underestimated.
They had a strong qualifying campaign, finishing top of their group with 28 points out of a possible 30 (9 wins, 1 draw) and were one of only two CAF teams, along with Ivory Coast, not to concede a single goal in qualifying.
This should stand them in good stead against a tough Group F which also includes Sweden, the Netherlands and Japan, all of whom possess significant attacking qualities.
It is therefore not surprising that the Opta supercomputer ranks Tunisia among the countries least likely to progress, with a 43.4% chance.
Sweden have a 62.6% chance of reaching the next round, behind group favorites the Netherlands (88.2%) and Japan (76.2%).
Previous World Cup results have also not been kind to Tunisia, who have won only three of their 18 matches (with a win rate of 16.7%). Among nations having played at least 15 World Cup matches, only Bulgaria (11.5%) has a lower winning percentage.
Despite modest expectations, Lamouchi nevertheless hopes that Mohamed Ben Romdhane (four goals) and Ali Abdi (one goal, three assists) can take their qualification to the big stage.
Potter, meanwhile, will count on Gyökeres to lead the Swedish attack. The striker scored four of Sweden’s six goals in their qualifying play-off matches, scoring a hat-trick against Ukraine before scoring the 88th-minute winner in the final against Poland.
The recently crowned Premier League champion has also converted every one of his last 29 penalties for club and country, including penalties, and his form could well prove vital to Sweden’s hopes.
Sweden vs Tunisia Face to face
This clash will mark the first ever official meeting between Sweden and Tunisia, and their first in the World Cup.
Their previous four meetings came in international friendlies, with Sweden winning two, Tunisia one and drawing one. Their last meeting took place in February 2003, where Tunisia won 1-0 at home.
Tunisia, however, has only won one of its 12 World Cup matches against a European opponent (4 draws, 7 losses), but that victory came against France, eventual finalist, in 2022 (1-0 in the group stage).
Sweden vs Tunisia Prediction
Sweden are among the favorites for this opening Group F match according to supercomputer Opta, with Potter’s side coming out on top in 52.3% of 10,000 pre-match simulations.
Tunisia has managed to achieve victory in just 22.7% of the supercomputer’s simulations, while a draw is rated at 25.0%.
Sweden vs Tunisia Squads
Suede: Jacob Widell Zetterström, Viktor Johansson, Kristoffer Nordfeldt, Gustaf Lagerbielke, Victor Lindelöf, Isak Hien, Gabriel Gudmundsson, Daniel Svensson, Hjalmar Ekdal, Carl Starfelt, Eric Smith, Herman Johansson, Lucas Bergvall, Ken Sema, Jesper Karlström, Yasin Ayari, Mattias Svanberg, Besfort Zeneli, Elliot Stroud, Taha Ali, Alexander Isak, Benjamin Nygren, Anthony Elanga, Viktor Gyökeres, Alexander Bernhardsson, Gustaf Nilsson.
Tunisia: Abdelmouhib Chamakh, Aymen Dahmen, Sabri Ben Hassen, Ali Abdi, Montassar Talbi, Omar Rekik, Adem Arous, Dylan Bronn, Yan Valery, Mohamed Amine Ben Hmida, Moutaz Neffati, Raed Chikhaoui, Elias Achouri, Hannibal Mejbri, Mortadha Ben Khanes, Rad, Mahmoud, Hadmoud, Hadmoud Ellyes Skhiri, Anis Ben Slimane, Elias Saad, Hazem Mastouri, Ismaël Gharbi, Khalil Ayari, Rayan Elloumi, Firas Chaouat, Sebastian Tounekti.
Sweden vs Tunisia Planned lineups
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