Alexander Isak made his first appearance of the season as a substitute for Sweden but was unable to prevent a damaging 2-0 defeat to Kosovo in World Cup qualifying on Monday. The Liverpool striker, who completed a £125m move from Newcastle, came on in the 72nd minute with Sweden already two goals behind.
Kosovo took the lead in the 26th minute when goalkeeper Robin Olsen blocked Elvis Rexhbecaj's shot only for the rebound to go in off the midfielder's shin. Vedat Muriqi doubled the lead three minutes before half-time, and although Sweden also had Arsenal striker Viktor Gyökeres from the start, they could not find a way back.
Isak said he was pleased to be back on the pitch after his move to Liverpool. "It's great that everything was settled before the camp and that I could focus on playing football again," he told Swedish media. "It's been a fairly new situation for me, but you always learn and develop mentally off the pitch as well." He had accused Newcastle of breaking promises and misleading supporters during the transfer saga.
The defeat leaves Sweden third in Group B with one point, behind Kosovo on three and Switzerland on six after their 3-0 win over Slovenia. The top team qualifies directly for the finals, with the runners-up going into the playoffs.
In Group I, Sandro Tonali scored a stoppage-time winner as Italy beat Israel 5-4 in an extraordinary match in Hungary. Italy twice came from behind, scored two own goals and conceded a late equaliser, with Tonali firing in an opportunistic strike from outside the area. Coach Gennaro Gattuso said: "We're crazy – we conceded some absurd goals but we will hold on to this win."
The result moves Italy second in the group on nine points, level with Israel on goal difference with a game in hand, and three behind Norway. Earlier, Denmark thrashed Greece 3-0 away with Mikkel Damsgaard scoring the opener, while Croatia beat Montenegro 4-0 to go top of Group L.
