Alexander Isak gave Anthony Elanga an earful after Elanga admitted he was oblivious to Sweden's World Cup qualification scenario during their final group stage match against Japan. The incident occurred following Sweden's 1-1 draw with Japan in Dallas, which secured their place in the last 32.
Elanga's admission sparks Isak's scolding
Speaking via Swedish newspaper Sportbladet, Elanga confessed: "I just shouted: 'Come on, we can go for more'. I'm glad we're through, I didn't know that at the end." The Newcastle United winger was unaware that a single point was sufficient for Sweden to advance from Group F. Isak, who left Newcastle for Liverpool last summer in a £125 million transfer, admitted he reprimanded his teammate. "He got a little scolded by me there. He was a little frustrated at the end of the match, and you can understand that now," Isak said.
Sweden's World Cup journey
Graham Potter's side secured a third-placed finish in Group F after the draw with Japan. The first half was lackluster, but the second half erupted with action. Daizen Maeda scored for Japan ten minutes after the break, but Elanga responded seven minutes later with a curling left-footed strike, his second goal in two World Cup matches. Sweden could now face Germany, Mexico, the United States, or Switzerland in the knockout stage, depending on which other third-placed teams qualify.
Pre-match briefing missed by Elanga
Sweden captain Victor Lindelof revealed that the team held a pre-match meeting to discuss qualification scenarios. However, Elanga appeared not to have absorbed the information. Sweden boss Potter saw the funny side when asked about Elanga's lack of awareness. "That explains a few things. We couldn't have been clearer, but he was obviously thinking of something else," Potter said.
Potter praises Elanga and Zetterstorm
Potter also praised Elanga's performance and that of goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterstorm, following Sweden's 5-1 thrashing by the Netherlands in their previous match. "We analysed the game against the Netherlands. We had to defend the box and wide areas better [today]. We decided to use Jacob's attributes because I think he's a fantastic goalkeeper. His distribution was very impressive. Anthony [Elanga] comes in and offers a counter-attack threat and his pace is destabilising for the opponent," Potter added.
