Chris McKenna
BBC Sport

Image source, Getty Images

When Graham Potter strode out to Sweden training last week donning a Stetson, it was a bit of fun to get into the World Cup mood as they prepared for the tournament in Texas.

Some might have quipped that the cowboy hat was fitting for a manager who was maybe drinking in last-chance saloon following back-to-back sackings in his previous jobs lasting a combined 15 months.

But at Estadio Monterrey in Mexico, Potter's side showed they mean business in this competition after the fun at training from their head coach.

For a manager who was dismissed by West Ham in September after failing at Chelsea before that, few would have expected him to be steering a nation to a winning start in the World Cup this summer.

The Solihull-born coach had become bristly with the media during his time in England in high-pressured jobs.

But he seems refreshed and reborn in the Sweden role. He is back in the country he really cut his teeth as a manager, where he took Ostersunds FK from the fourth tier to the top flight, winning the domestic cup and leading them into their first European campaign.

It is certainly looking more positive for the cowboy hat-wearing manager.

Here's a reminder of the standings in Group F and the games we have coming up.

The Netherlands were a little underwhelming in their 2-2 draw with Japan. Despite twice taking the lead, Japan always looked dangerous and deservedly battled back to claim a point.

Should the Dutch fail to fire in their next match against an in-form Sweden - fresh from their opening 5-1 win - then a defeat could put undue pressure on their final game of the group stages against Tunisia...

Remaining matches:

Saturday, 20 June

• Netherlands v Sweden (18:00 BST)

Sunday, 21 June

• Tunisia v Japan (05:00 BST)

Friday, 26 June

• Japan v Sweden (00:00 BST)
• Tunisia v Netherlands (00:00 BST)

Image source, Getty Images

The conversation before the start of Group F was the status of the Netherlands and Japan as World Cup dark horses.

Should we now add Sweden to this category, given the fire power they have in attacking positions?

Sweden's best finish at a World Cup came in 1958, when they finished runners-up on home soil under another English manager in George Raynor.

They also finished third in 1994, when the competition was last staged in the USA.

Good omens for current Sweden boss Graham Potter?

Get in touch with your thoughts using the 'Get Involved' button.

Yasin Ayari also starred for Sweden, as the Brighton midfielder opened and closed the scoring with two fantastic long-range efforts.

By doing so, he became Sweden's youngest World Cup scorer since Tomas Brolin in 1990.

His celebrations were muted, however, in respect of his father, who is Tunisian.

Ayari could have represented Tunisia, but plumped to play for Sweden instead.

Take a look at his opening goal below ... proper top bins.

Image source, Getty Images

Graham Potter believes Sweden's Premier League strike pairing of Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres can be a "real threat" at this World Cup.

Liverpool's Isak and Arsenal's Gyokeres tore Tunisia's defence to shreds in Monday morning's 5-1 win in Moterrey, scoring a goal apiece and also assisting three of Sweden's five goals.

Sweden coach Potter said: "Individually, of course, they are top players but I think together they can be a real threat.

"I think they’ll get better and better the more they play; they complement each other very well.

"I’m really pleased with the players. We know the quality of the individuals in the front positions but they needed a team to function.

"We weren’t perfect; we knew we wouldn’t be. But at the start of the game I thought we had good control."

There is no doubting the impact of Sweden's Premier League strike pairing.

Both Viktor Gyokeres and Alexander Isak scored in their opening win over Tunisia, while Gyokeres set up Isak for his 30th-minute strike and Isak responded by weighing in with an assist for Gyokeres, also teeing up Mattias Svanberg for the final goal in their 5-1 victory...

Mario Melchiot
Former Netherlands defender on BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast

The critical question that the Netherlands fans ask for Virgil van Dijk is that sometimes he has to be more involved and dictate and do more.

When you look at Liverpool, sometimes it's a system and everyone has the individual job and what his key thing is to be a defender.

I think that we cannot be too critical about Van Dijk because sometimes some of the guys that we praise in Holland have not done what he has done, won what he has won, achieved what he has.

He has become very successful for the Dutch national team and also for his generation. Sometimes you have to compliment that person too.

Sometimes [the criticism is] a little harsh on him because when you do well, I have to give you credit.

Image source, Getty Images

Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk opened the scoring against Japan, but according to former Dutch defender Mario Melchiot, questions are being asked in his homeland about the Liverpool defender's overall contribution...

The Netherlands and Japan fans were doing a lot of heavy lifting to create an atmosphere in Dallas before their match finally burst into life.

Both sets of supporters take the term fanatical to another level - in a good way - and will continue to be a feature of this World Cup as a competitive Group F comes to the boil.

Whether or not they can extend their stay into the knockout stages will depend largely on how they fare against Tunisia, following Sweden's heavy win over the African side in the group's other opening game.

Phil McNulty
BBC Sport chief football writer at Dallas Stadium

Daichi Kamada's late header rescued a deserved point for Japan against the Netherlands in their opening World Cup game in Dallas.

One of the most anticipated games in the tournament's group stages was a slow burner before developing into a second-half thriller, after the Dutch side's Premier League contingent looked to have set them on their way to an important victory.

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk and West Ham United forward Crysencio Summerville were on target before Crystal Palace's Kamada struck with a deft header to divert Koki Ogawa's effort with two minutes left and secure a draw.

Ronald Koeman's side posed the greater threat in a subdued first half, with Donyell Malen the main danger, forcing three saves from Japan keeper Zion Suzuki.

The game burst into life after the restart, captain Van Dijk heading the Dutch in front after 51 minutes with a precise header from Liverpool team-mate Ryan Gravenberch's cross.

Japan were never out of contention and they were level six minutes later when Keito Nakamura's low shot carried too much power for Dutch keeper Bart Verbruggen.

The Netherlands responded with a moment of real quality to restore their advantage after 64 minutes, Summerville cutting inside the area before sending a low drive beyond the outstretched arm of Suzuki.

Japan continued to press and got their reward through Kamada, to the delight of the thousands of Samurai Blue fans who were in Dallas to support their country.

Sweden's comprehensive victory over Tunisia puts them top of Group F.

Their next match is against the Netherlands, who were held to a 2-2 draw by Japan in their opening game...

Keifer MacDonald
BBC Sport

Alexander Isak marked his first World Cup appearance with a trademark goal as Sweden thrashed Tunisia in their opening match of the tournament in Monterrey.

The Liverpool forward - who has been hampered by injuries since completing a £125m move to Anfield in September - found the bottom corner with a thumping finish after a powerful run from the left on the half-hour mark.

The goal came after linking up with strike partner Viktor Gyokeres, with the Arsenal forward holding off his marker on the halfway line before laying the ball into the path of his fellow Premier League forward.

His strike doubled Sweden's advantage after Yasin Ayari had rifled a shot into the top corner after seven minutes following a sloppy piece of defending from Tunisia.

The 22-year-old Brighton midfielder - who made his senior international debut while on loan at Coventry City in 2023 - refused to celebrate after becoming Sweden's youngest World Cup scorer since Tomas Brolin in 1990, with his first international goal coming against the country of his father's birth.

Tunisia halved the deficit two minutes before half-time when defender Omar Rekik headed home from Hannibal Mejbri's free-kick.

But Sweden hit back when Isak turned provider - first for Gyokeres on the hour mark, then again 24 minutes later when substitute Mattias Svanberg scored the fastest goal by a substitute in World Cup history, just 12 seconds after coming on.

Ayari applied the gloss to a five-star performance by smashing home his second long-distance goal, and Sweden's fifth, to send Graham Potter's side top of Group F.

So Sweden.

They failed to qualify directly for the World Cup but made the play-offs courtesy of their performances in the recent Nations League.

Victory over Poland in their play-off final secured their place and they provided one of the standout performances of the tournament this morning in Monterrey, Mexico.

Graham Potter only took over as head coach in October, a month after being sacked by West Ham.

But the former Chelsea and Brighton boss has worked wonders, making the most of the Premier League talent at his disposal...

Image source, Getty Images

We are going to bring you all of the reaction to the overnight matches.

But remember, you can also get the latest on 5 Live Breakfast, which is being presented by Rick Edwards live from Los Angeles.

Rick will also feature heavily in the latest episode of the Football Daily podcast, which will drop soon on BBC Sounds.

The Premier League's influence on this World Cup took a little while to come to the fore, but the English top flight certainly flexed its muscles overnight.

We want to know the performances of Premier League players that have really caught your eye so far in this tournament, as well as your highlight from the latest four matches.

And for Graham Potter fans, what do you make of the job he is doing so far with Sweden?

Could their forward line, which is brimming with Premier League talent, have an impact at this World Cup?

Send us your messages using the 'Get Involved' button.

Thanks.

Right, let's dive a little deeper into the stories from the overnight games.

One factor that instantly jumps out is the Premier League influence.

Ex-Swansea, Brighton, Chelsea and West Ham boss Graham Potter led Sweden to a stunning 5-1 win over Tunisia that included two goals from Brighton's Yasin Ayari and one apiece from Liverpool's Alexander Isak and Arsenal's Viktor Gyokeres.

Elsewhere, Manchester United winger Amad Diallo scored a late winner for Ivory Coast against Ecuador, while Liverpool skipper Virgil van Dijk and West Ham's Crysencio Summerville both scored in an entertaining 2-2 draw with Japan, for whom Crystal Palace's Daichi Kamada headed home a late leveller.

Earlier, Germany swept aside minnows Curacao in a 7-1 win that was orchestrated by Liverpool's Florian Wirtz, while the Gunners' Kai Havertz led the scoring with a brace.

Before the latest round of matches, the EFL Championship had produced the most goal scorers of any domestic league in the opening days of the World Cup with four.

Remaining matches:

Saturday, 20 June

• Netherlands v Sweden (18:00 BST)

Sunday, 21 June

• Tunisia v Japan (05:00 BST)

Friday, 26 June

• Japan v Sweden (00:00 BST)
• Tunisia v Netherlands (00:00 BST)

Here is how those results have left Group E...

Remaining matches:

Saturday 20, June

• Germany v Ivory Coast (21:00 BST)

Sunday, 21 June

• Ecuador v Curacao (01:00 BST)

Thursday, 25 June

• Curacao v Ivory Coast (21:00 BST)
• Ecuador v Germany (21:00 BST)

Right, let's take these games one by one.

Check out the scores below, with links to the match reports.

We will bring you details of each match in a moment, along with an update of the standings in each group:

Group E

• Germany 7-1 Curacao
• Ivory Coast 1-0 Ecuador

Group F

• Netherlands 2-2 Japan
• Sweden 5-1 Tunisia