Potter: Isak and Gyokeres will only get better at World Cup

Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.

Graham Potter believes Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres will only get better in Sweden’s World Cup campaign following their blistering start against Tunisia. 

Sweden delivered a five-star performance in their opening Group F game, winning 5-1 at Estadio Monterrey with both Isak and Gyokeres on the scoresheet. 

Yasin Ayari opened and concluded the scoring with two stunning strikes, while substitute Mattias Svanberg made an instant impact off the bench with his 84th-minute finish.  

Sweden’s five goals against Tunisia are their second most in a World Cup match after an 8-0 win over Cuba in the quarter-final in 1938, and it was Isak and Gyokeres who shone. 

After an injury-hit debut campaign with Liverpool, Isak became only the second Swedish player to record a goal and two assists in a World Cup match since 1966 after Tomas Brolin against Bulgaria in 1994. 

Gyokeres and Isak are also the second pair of Sweden team-mates to each record a goal and an assist in a World Cup match since 1966, joining Kennet Andersson and Martin Dahlin against Saudi Arabia in 1994. 

“Individually, of course, they are top players, but I think ​together they can be a real threat,” Potter said of Isak and Gyokeres’ partnership. 

“I think they’ll get better and better the more they play; they complement each ​other very well. I’m really pleased with the players.

“We know ​the quality of the individuals in the front positions, but they need a ‌team ⁠to function.

“We weren’t perfect; we knew we wouldn’t be. But at the start of the game I thought we had good control.”

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) June 15, 2026

It was a result that saw Sweden open their World Cup campaign with a win for the second straight tournament (2018), having failed to win their first match in any of their seven appearances in the competition between 1970 and 2006 (D5 L2). 

They sit top of their group following Japan’s 2-2 draw with Netherlands, with Ronald Koeman’s side up next for Sweden at Houston Stadium this Saturday. 

“We know we’ll meet a top team next, and we have to be ready ​for that,” Potter added on the challenge of facing Netherlands. 

For Tunisia, meanwhile, Sabri Lamouchi was left to rue a number of mistakes that led to Sweden’s goals, while also highlighting the struggles they had in the final third. 

Lamouchi’s men finished with an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.28 from their six shots compared to Sweden’s 1.33 from their 13 attempts at Abdelmouhib Chamakh’s net.

“With world-class players that ​they have in the two Swedish ​forwards, it’s something that you don’t recover from,” Lamouchi said. 

“We made way too many mistakes. It’s a difficult loss. ​It’s painful. Starting the competition with ⁠this bad of a loss is indeed ​difficult.”

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