Sweden midfielder Yasin Ayari is set to represent his birth nation in the upcoming FIFA World Cup, despite being eligible to play for Tunisia and Morocco through his parents. Born and raised in Solna, near Stockholm, Ayari has come through the Swedish football system and will take the field for Graham Potter’s team in their Group F opener against Tunisia in Guadalupe.

Ayari, 22, has earned 21 caps for Sweden and was open about the personal significance of facing Tunisia, his father’s homeland. “For sure. My father is from there, so it will be a big game for my family,” he said ahead of the match. His father, a former player who migrated to Sweden to pursue a professional career, had coached Ayari at the local club Rasunda before the young talent was recruited by AIK at the age of eight. Ayari spent 11 years at AIK before transferring to Brighton & Hove Albion in 2023 for a reported £6 million. His mother remains employed behind the scenes at AIK, and his younger brother Taha, aged 20, currently plays as a wideman for the Stockholm club.

On his decision to represent Sweden, Ayari explained it was a straightforward choice given his upbringing and progression through Sweden’s national youth teams. “It was easy for me because I was born in Sweden and came through the national teams when I was younger,” he said, while expressing respect and goodwill toward Tunisia and Morocco, countries his parents hail from. Ayari also noted spending much of his childhood visiting those countries on holidays.

Sweden have qualified for their second World Cup tournament in 20 years after a dramatic play-off campaign. The squad, led by Potter—who was appointed following his dismissal by West Ham in September 2025—secured spot in the tournament with narrow victories over Ukraine and Poland in the qualifiers. Their route to the World Cup was facilitated by a Nations League ranking despite a modest qualifying campaign, where Sweden earned just two points from six games.

Drawn into a challenging Group F alongside the Netherlands, Japan, and Tunisia, Sweden face an uphill task. Ayari remains optimistic, highlighting the attacking prowess of forwards Viktor Gyokeres and Alexander Isak. “They are two of the best in the world,” Ayari said. “They’ve been showing it now on the big stages for a long time. I’m happy they’re in my team, it’s going to be fun. They work together quite well. We know what we need to do to be able to make them shine.”

In recent warm-up matches, Sweden has struggled to find form, failing to win against Norway and Greece. Nonetheless, the team aims to build momentum as they embark on their World Cup campaign in the United States.