Sweden crushes Tunisia as substitute Matias Svanberg nears World Cup speed record

Sweden opened its World Cup campaign on Monday morning with a dominant 5-1 win over Tunisia and collected its first three points in Group F. After 45 minutes, the score was 2-1 to Sweden, even though Opta recorded only 0.47 expected goals in the half. According to the statistics company, which has tracked historical data since 1966, it was the lowest expected-goals total ever recorded in a World Cup half with three goals scored.

The match’s standout moment came in the 84th minute, when substitute Matias Svanberg, of Wolfsburg, scored just 18 seconds after entering the pitch. That made him the second-fastest substitute scorer in World Cup history since data collection began in 1966.

The all-time record still belongs to Richard Morales, who scored after 16 seconds for Uruguay against Senegal in 2002. Swedish coverage highlighted Svanberg’s instant impact, saying he “did not wait even a minute to score.”