Sweden scorer apologizes after striking against Tunisia, the country he once considered representing

Sweden opened its World Cup campaign against Tunisia in Monterrey on Monday in Group E, and Yasin Ayari put the yellow team ahead in the seventh minute. The 22-year-old pounced on a loose ball at the edge of the area after a poor save by Abdelmouhib Chemah and blasted it into the net at 119 km/h.

Ayari did not celebrate. Instead, he raised his hands in apology, a gesture tied to his Tunisian roots on his father’s side. His mother is of Moroccan descent, meaning he could also have been eligible to represent Morocco in some circumstances.

The personal drama goes back to 2021, when Ayari was 17 and Tunisian officials approached him with a proposal to switch allegiance before the 2022 World Cup. He chose to stay with Sweden, following his father’s advice. His father said, “My son already wanted to go play for Tunisia, but I asked him to represent Sweden instead, this is the country that accepted him, and this is the country that developed him. He had to give something back.”

Tunisia coach Sami Trabelsi recently said, “I know Yasin. He made his choice and I really respect him for that. He is a good player and I will wish him success after the match, but only after the match.”