Tunisia
Tunisia travel to Monterrey under Sabri Lamouchi, who took charge only this year after Sami Trabelsi was dismissed and has had little time to stamp his ideas on the side. My read on this is that captain Ellyes Skhiri will anchor a compact, hard-working midfield, with Hannibal Mejbri the man tasked with providing the creative spark in the final third. But while they have some talented players, there’s no denying that form is a concern; Tunisia were thrashed by Belgium in their final warm-up, conceding five goals and seeing Ismael Gharbi sent off, which exposed how bland they can look going forward. In my opinion, Lamouchi will prioritise defensive solidity and look to frustrate Sweden rather than opening up and looking to create a lot of scoring opportunity for themselves.
Predicted Lineup: Dahmen; Drager, Talbi, Meriah, Abdi; Skhiri, Laidouni; Achouri, Mejbri, Ben Slimane; Jaziri.
Sweden
Sweden are the stronger side on paper and from my point of view Graham Potter will build everything around a forward line most nations would envy, with Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres supported by the pace of Anthony Elanga. The warning signs are there, though, after a defeat to Norway and a draw with Greece in their warm-ups, and the lack of a settled, top-class goalkeeper remains a genuine worry. Dejan Kulusevski misses the tournament after a season wrecked by injury, while Emil Holm withdrew late and was replaced by Herman Johansson. I still expect Potter's three at the back system to carry enough quality to win this, but they will need patience against a stubborn opponent.
Predicted Lineup: Nordfeldt; Hien, Lagerbielke, Lindelof; Svensson, Karlstrom, Ayari, Gudmundsson; Elanga, Isak; Gyokeres.
