‘I’ve got to watch my bleeding ear’

Graham Potter says an ear injury he suffered during Sweden’s 5-1 win over Tunisia on his World Cup debut could have been caused by a human bite.

Touching his right ear after being asked about the infliction during his post-match press conference, Potter appeared to suggest the incident had taken place while he was celebrating a goal during his side’s sensational start to the finals in Monterrey.

“I don’t know what happened,” smiled former West Ham, Chelsea and Brighton & Hove Albion boss Potter.

“I think somebody scratched me or bit me. I’ve got to watch my ear – it’s bleeding. It’s not easy with a bleeding ear.

“I didn’t know. It’s amazing when you score. I probably need to watch the video back and analyse what happened.”

World Cup 2026: Isak and Gyokeres ‘complement each other’

Yasin Ayari, who joined current club Brighton in 2023, a year after Potter left, scored twice and Viktor Gyokeres, Alexander Isak and Mattias Svanberg were also on the scoresheet as the Blagult started in style in Group F.

Potter backed the partnership between forwards Isak, whose difficult season included a broken leg after joining Liverpool for a British-record £125 million last September, and Gyokeres, who arrived at Arsenal two months earlier and scored 21 goals in all competitions to help the Gunners win the Premier League and reach the Champions League final.

“They haven’t played together many times,” observed Potter. “They complement each other very well, bringing different attributes and qualities.

“They’re top players individually, but together they can be a real threat. The challenge for us is to make sure the team functions well and get the best out of those guys.”

Alexander Isak fitness: Liverpool forward shines at World Cup

Isak started for the first time in five competitive Sweden matches, scoring from Gyokeres’ assist before returning the favour and teeing up Svanberg’s goal.

“We kept speaking to him and asking him how he was,” said Potter. “Alexander has got that ability to look really, really, really tired, and then all of a sudden the ball comes to him and he comes alive and looks like he could play another two games.

“He was adamant that he wanted to play the 90 minutes, which was brilliant. He managed himself well in the game but we were conscious that, if we got another goal, maybe we were going to take him off.

“That was the thinking – and, at the same time, to push him as much as we could. Now we’ve got to recover him well. It’s great for him and us that he’s built some minutes up.”

World Cup 2026 analysis: Sweden ‘dream start’

Potter, who was sacked by West Ham in September, was appointed on a short-term deal in October and signed a contract until 2030 in March, having sealed qualification for the finals through an away win against Ukraine and home victory over Poland in the play-offs.

Sweden had drawn two and lost four of their preceding matches to finish bottom of their European qualifying group, but their performance in the 2024/25 Nations League had earned them a play-off spot.

“Sweden fans will be starting to call him Harry Potter rather than Graham Potter, with what he’s done,” former Jamaica international Jobi McAnuff told ITV Football.

“They were in a really sticky situation when he took over and he got them qualified. What a dream start to life at the World Cup. He’s got a really talented squad.”

World Cup 2026: Sweden fixtures, schedule

Sweden are next in action against the Netherlands, who drew their opener 2-2 with Japan, in Houston on Saturday.

Here’s how their remaining group stage fixtures look. Asterisk denotes match starting the next day in that territory.