Who is Sweden’s Yasin Ayari, and why didn’t he celebrate against Tunisia?
Key takeaways
- The 22-year-old scored two goals against Tunisia but had muted celebrations against the country of his father’s birth.
- The fresh-faced midfielder, though, did not revel in the moment as a young World Cup debutant might and instead chose to hold both his hands up before falling onto the ground in sujoud (Muslim act of prostration).
- The deep Tunisian connection that runs in his blood, and one that could have seen him play for the opposition as late as four years ago.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
The 22-year-old scored two goals against Tunisia but had muted celebrations against the country of his father’s birth.
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogle Add Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Yasin Ayari made his World Cup debut in Sweden's first game and scored two goals against Tunisia, the country of his father's heritage [Julio Cesar Aguialar/AFP]By Al Jazeera Staff Published On 15 Jun 202615 Jun 2026For a 22-year-old making his World Cup debut for Sweden, Yasin Ayari could only have dreamed of a better start to his introduction to the biggest showcase of football.
With a full-throttled volley into the top corner of Tunisia’s net just seven minutes into the first half of their Group H match in Monterrey, Ayari had opened the scoring for the Scandinavian side against their North African opponents.