Sweden 5-1 Tunisia: One goal celebrated, the other not - Yasin Ayari's double blow for Tunisia

The scorer of a brace for Sweden (5-1) in the early hours of Monday morning at the 2026 World Cup, midfielder Yasin Ayari precipitated Tunisia's downfall - in the colours of a nation he might well have represented himself.

Fate can sometimes have a sense of humour, and Tunisia will not disagree. Already under the spotlight after their 5-0 defeat to Belgium in a warm-up game, the Eagles of Carthage were swept aside 5-1 by Sweden in their World Cup 2026 opener, in a performance marred by countless individual mistakes from Tunisian players.

As if that defeat, which already puts their qualification hopes in serious doubt, was not enough, their tormentor took the shape of Yasin Ayari, a player who might have ended up in the Tunisian camp. The Brighton midfielder first opened the scoring in the seventh minute with a fine half-volley from the edge of the box, a goal he did not celebrate.

Then, 89 minutes later, he scored the final goal of the evening with a rocket from the edge of the box, this time a goal he did not hesitate to celebrate.

Yasin Ayari had been in contact with the Tunisian Federation

Behind the non-celebration is, of course, a personal story. Yasin Ayari was born in Sweden, in Solna, to a Tunisian father and a Moroccan mother. He had even been in contact with the Tunisian Football Federation (FTF), which had approached him about joining the Eagles of Carthage.

Abdelaziz Ayari, the player's father, told Arabic-language outlet Winwin in early 2023, as his son was making his senior debut with Sweden: 'Yasin has not yet made his choice between Tunisia and Sweden. I cannot be sure that he will choose Tunisia, but if he does, I would be very happy, despite the unclear picture surrounding the future of Tunisian football.'

While Yasin Ayari was open to representing Tunisia, a country in which he admitted he had 'spent a lot of time on holiday', it was his father who reportedly pushed him to choose Sweden, the country that 'welcomed and developed him', according to journalist Ben Jacobs.

A dual identity that has not always been easy to manage, as proven by his contained joy on the first goal and the celebration that exploded on the second.

Yasin Ayari, who could have played for Tunisia because his dad is from there, just scored an absolute banger for Sweden vs. his dad's country at the World Cup ?

He didn't celebrate out of respect ❤️ pic.twitter.com/fU5kKFKgeq
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) June 15, 2026

What the Yasin Ayari case tells us about Tunisia and dual-national players

Having managed to attract dual-national players such as Hannibal Mejbri when he was very young and being chased by France, or more recently former Paris Saint-Germain youth product Ismael Gharbi, Tunisia is becoming increasingly appealing to their dual-national talents. Nevertheless, they are still some distance from boasting the appeal of their Algerian and Moroccan neighbours.

That was again the case at this World Cup with the situation surrounding Germany-born striker Louey Ben Farhat (Karlsruhe), who had earned his first two caps in March but turned down the chance to take part in the tournament even though manager Sabri Lamouchi had named him on his squad list.

Lamouchi said before the World Cup: 'I received a call from Louey Ben Farhat's father this Friday morning. He told me it was too early to call him up and he turned us down. I was shocked. I called Louey, he did not pick up. It is a lack of respect. This matter is closed.' The controversies that regularly hit the FTF, and defeats like the one against Sweden, are unlikely to improve matters on that front.