Stadium: Estadio Monterrey
Date: Monday, June 15
Kick-off Time: 3am BST
Match Preview
Sweden have taken a rather different route to qualifiying for the 2026 world cup torunament.
They had a dreadful qualifying campaign, failing to win a game and finishing bottom of the group, however they were given a lifeline due to winning there league phase in the nations league.
Not everyone is a fan of the nations league but Sweden are certainly thankful for the extra route. In the Play-offs the comfortably got past Ukraine in the semi final before a crazy finish in the final gave them a 3-2 win over Poland with an 88th minute winner from Victor Gyokores.
Jon Dahl Tomasson oversaw the world cup campaign but was sacked and replaced by Graham Potter, a man with great knowledge of the Swedish game and his appointmnt has seen a real turnaround in there fortunes.
Now ranked 38th in the FIFA rankings Sweden have a very good record in opening matches at world cups having lost just once in 12 previous appearances.
If Sweden struggled to qualify for the world cup the same could not be said for Tunisia, they absolutely brezzed through qualifying, winning nine of their ten games, the only slight blip was a 0-0 draw away to Namibia.
Another amazing featfrom qualifying was they didnt concede a single goal, ten games,0 goals conceded. No other nation has ever achieved this in CAF Qualifying.
Unfortunately for the North Africans they have a dreadful record at world cup Tournaments, participating in 6 previous editions and each time eliminated at the group stage.
Manager Sabri Lamouchi will not be happy with the form theyhave shown in recent matches however, they were knocked out of the AFCON last 16 by Mali and lost to Austria (1-0) on June 1stand Belgium (5-0) on June 6th
Team News Sweden
Sweden enter the opening game with a fully fit squad for Graham Potter to choose from, although he did lose Emil Holm before the tournament due to injury.
Gabriel Gudmundsson has recovered from the injury that kept him out of the end of the Premier League season but he has been struggling with a virus over the last few days.
Daniel Svensson will be the man to fill in for Gudmundsson if he doesnt start.
Victor Lindelof, Antony Elanga, Aleksander Isak all finished the season with knocks but all are fully fit and all should start in Monterrey.
Team News Tunisia
Although Sabri Lamouchi has a fully fit squad to choose from he is likely to make plenty of changes following the 5-0 defeat to Belgium 8 days ago.
Burnley midfielder Hannibal Mejbri didnt start that defeat to Belgium and he is likely to come into the side and play alongside Rani Khedira, brother of 2014 world cup winner Sami Khedira.
Meanwhile, Tunisia are expected to have a fully-fit squad at their disposal for Monday’s match, although Lamouchi is expected to make alterations to the team that was swept aside by Belgium last time out.
Omar Rekik – formerly of Arsenal – helms a defence protecting number one Mouhib Chamakh; no relation to the erstwhile Gunners striker.
Form
| Team | Latest Result | Form (Last 5) |
|---|---|---|
| Sweden | 2-2 vs Greece | L D W W L D |
| Tunisia | 0-5 vs Belgium | D L W D L L |
Possible Line Ups
Sweden (3-5-2)
Nordfeldt; Hien, Lindelof, Lagerbielke; Bernhardsson, Karlstrom, Ayari, Gudmundsson; Nygren; Gyokeres, Isak
Tunisia (4-4-2)
Chamakh; Valery, Rekik, Talbi, Ali Abdi; Skhiri, Khedira; Achouri, Hannibal, Gharbi; Chaouat
Betting Odds
| Team | Odds | Bookmaker |
|---|---|---|
Sweden Win | 19/20 (1.95) | Grand Ivy |
| Draw | 12/5 (3.40) | Dream Vegas |
| Tunisia Win | 3/1 (4.00) | 247Bet |
We Predict.....
Sweden 2-1 Tunisia
This could all depend on which Tunisia turn up, if we get the Qualifying side then it could be a tough night for the swedes,if not it could be a routine win. We expect it will be hard fought with the Swedes justedging it