Alan Shearer was left stunned by Anthony Elanga's bright cameo from the bench for Sweden despite their 5-1 World Cup thrashing by the Netherlands in Toronto. The Newcastle United star scored and impressed, linking up with former Magpies forward Alexander Isak.
Elanga's Quick Impact
Introduced as a 56th-minute substitute with Sweden already 4-0 down, Elanga replaced right-wing-back Alexander Bernhardsen and needed just three minutes to make an impact. He made a clever run behind the Dutch defence to latch onto an incisive through ball from Isak, taking the ball in stride before firing beyond Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen with his left foot from point-blank range.
The link-up would have left Magpies supporters ruing what might have been, had Isak not pursued his British record transfer move to Liverpool last summer.
Shearer's Reaction
Elanga's bright cameo continued minutes later as he left Dutch left-back Micky van de Ven for dead before nutmegging him with a clever Cruyff turn to move into the box, though his eventual cross was cleared. The moment left Newcastle legend Alan Shearer stunned while working in the commentary box for BBC Sport's coverage, as he gleefully let out a 'whoops' as Elanga humiliated the Tottenham defender.
Sweden's World Cup Hopes
Sweden's defeat leaves them in third place in Group F on three points, one point adrift of the Netherlands and Japan. They face Japan in Dallas in the early hours of Friday morning in a crucial final group game.
Graham Potter's 3-5-2 formation uses wing-backs and a front two, leaving natural winger Elanga struggling to break into the starting XI. Defensive question marks prevent him starting at wing-back, while the front two of Isak and Arsenal forward Viktor Gyokeres are irreplaceable. However, his positive performance from the bench has surely given Potter food for thought regarding team selection for the decisive match.
