Sweden 5:1 Tunisia
Regular cricket viewers are accustomed to seeing the use of ‘Snicko’.
Snicko is one of the technologies employed in the Decision Review System (DRS). It detects subtle contact between the ball and the bat or pad—contacts that are usually imperceptible to the naked eye. Today, this very technology was seen in action during the FIFA World Cup match between Sweden and Tunisia.
The goal scored by Mattias Svanberg in the 84th minute was initially disallowed due to offside. However, Snicko later revealed that the ball had grazed the tip of Alexander Isak’s boot before reaching Svanberg—a detail the referee missed live but which was captured by Snicko via VAR.
With this dramatic goal, Svanberg has entered the World Cup record books. The midfielder had entered the pitch as a substitute just moments before scoring. According to BBC Live, Svanberg scored only 12 seconds after coming on, marking the fastest goal by a substitute in World Cup history. However, other sources provide different timings.
Opta, a football data and analytics firm, states that Svanberg scored 18 seconds after entering the field, making it the second-fastest goal. Uruguay’s Richard Morales scored 16 seconds after coming on as a substitute against Senegal in the 2002 World Cup. Meanwhile, ESPN reports that Svanberg’s goal occurred 16 seconds after he entered the game. We must await the official FIFA report to determine which timing will be officially recognized.
In the match where Svanberg set this record, Sweden defeated Tunisia by a commanding 5-1 margin. Yasin Ayari, a midfielder playing for Brighton, scored two of the goals—the first in the seventh minute and the fifth in the sixth minute of stoppage time. The three goals in between were scored by Alexander Isak (30th minute), Viktor Gyökeres (59th), and Svanberg. Omar Rekik (43rd) pulled one back for Tunisia towards the end of the first half.
Sweden now tops Group F with three points. In the other match of the same group, the Netherlands and Japan played out a 2–2 draw. Sweden will play their next match against the Netherlands on June 20, while Japan will face Tunisia the following day.
