Sweden opens World Cup with 5-1 rout of Tunisia, as Sababberg nearly sets substitution scoring record

Sweden began its World Cup campaign on Monday morning with a dominant 5-1 win over Tunisia to take its first three points in Group G. By halftime, Sweden led 2-1, even though Opta recorded only 0.47 expected goals in the first 45 minutes. According to the statistics company, that made it the lowest expected-goals total ever recorded in a World Cup half that still produced three goals, since data collection began in 1966.

The match also produced a near-historic moment for substitute Matias Sababberg. He scored Sweden’s fourth goal in the 84th minute only 18 seconds after stepping onto the pitch. The Wolfsburg player became the second-fastest substitute scorer in World Cup history since 1966, behind Uruguay’s Richard Morales.

Morales holds the record after scoring 16 seconds after coming on in Uruguay’s 2002 match against Senegal. Swedish coverage praised Sababberg, saying he “did not even wait a minute to score.”