Swedish Al-Ayari: Tunisia is my second homeland.

Yassine Ayari, a player for the Swedish national team with a Tunisian father, confirmed that facing Tunisia had a special emotional significance for him, noting his strong connection to the country from which part of his family hails, despite his happiness in leading his national team to a 5-1 victory over Tunisia in the opening of the 2026 World Cup.

Ayari, who scored the first and fifth goals for Sweden in the match, said, "The Tunisian national team is a strong team with good players, and we knew that the match would not be easy. Our goal was to win, and we succeeded in that."

Regarding his Tunisian father's feelings after he scored two goals against the "Eagles of Carthage," he said, "I think my father is very happy for me; but I can't say whether he is sad or not, that's a question that should be directed to him personally."

The player explained that the match was exceptional for him on a personal level, adding, "It was an emotional match because Tunisia also represents my second homeland. I have strong feelings for this country and love it very much, and many of my family members live there."

Despite those feelings, Ayari emphasized his full commitment to the Swedish national team, saying, "I play for my national team and my country. Therefore, I am very happy to achieve victory today against Tunisia."

Yassine Ayari led the Swedish national team to a significant victory over Tunisia with a score of 5-1 in the first round of the group stage of the 2026 World Cup.

The player, who has a Tunisian father, scored the first goal in the seventh minute before concluding Sweden's five-goal tally with the fifth goal in stoppage time.

Alexander Isak, Viktor Gyökeres, and Mattias Svanberg scored the other goals for the Swedish national team, while Omar Rekik scored Tunisia's only goal; noting that this is the largest loss for the Tunisian national team in the history of its World Cup participations.