Inside Europe: Alexander Isak's goal should be to break Zlatan Ibrahimovic's scoring record
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ByEurosport
Updated 19/06/2021 at 19:50 GMT
After the brilliant performance of Alexander Isak as Sweden moved onto four points in their Euro 2020 group we ask our colleague Siavoush Fallahi to give us everything we need to know about the Swedish national team and their exciting young forward. Sweden will face Poland in their final group match.
Inside Europe
Image credit: Eurosport
In the latest edition of Inside Europe, Eurosport's series that brings you all the latest goings-on across the continent, we turn our eyes towards Sweden.
After getting an impressive, and hard-fought, 0-0 draw with Spain in their opening match Sweden then secured a win against Slovakia to put themselves in a great position to qualify for the next round.
We got the low-down from our colleague at Eurosport Sweden, Siavoush Fallahi on this exciting young team, and one player in particular of course.
Alexander Isak caught the eye with his display. What is the expectation for him in this tournament?
Alexander Isak is the biggest hope of the Swedish team since Zlatan Ibrahimovic. In Spain they're very well aware of his talent and ability but since he hasn't been playing on the big stage many haven't seen him before now. We expect him to do exactly what he's showed the first two games, lead the creativity in the Swedish attack with his technique, speed and strength and hopefully he'll get some goals as well.
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Isak was Sweden's man of the match
Image credit: Getty Images
Equally, what sort of expectation is there on him long-term both for Sweden and at club level?
The expectation is that Isak and Dejan Kulusevski (of Juventus) will lead the Swedish attacking forces for a long time. Isak is good enough to do it from now, Kulusevski still has to show some more. The long-term target for Isak would be to score more goals than Zlatan Ibrahmovic did for the national team, he has everything to become an icon for Sweden. Isak is a very calm, well spoken and serious person and is well liked by everyone who has worked with him or around him. At club level we're hoping that he can join one of the biggest clubs in the world or play with one of the best coaches in the world, maybe in the summer.
He is not being linked with moves away from Spain, where would be the best fit for a player of his talent?
Personally I'd love to see him in a stable Champions League club. I like the thought of having him play with a coach like Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool. Otherwise it'd be great to see him at one of the Spanish giants but I think most of them are well covered at the moment. In Italy there's been talk about Jose Mourinho's Roma, but I'd want him to play in the CL and it would be cool to see him together with Romelu Lukaku at Inter if Lautaro Martinez were to leave.
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Romelu Lukaku of Belgium celebrates after scoring their side's third goal during the UEFA Euro 2020 Championship Group B match between Belgium and Russia on June 12, 2021 in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Image credit: Getty Images
With four points so far, Sweden look almost set to qualify for the last 16. How far can they go?
They are a team that can only improve, that's how we see it in Sweden. The defence has been good but they need to improve the offensive quality. I think Sweden has everything in order to make it past the group and make a quarter final, then it'd be down to luck with draws etc.
The Sweden team have looked very well organised in their opening two matches, why is the defence so hard to break down?
In the first match against Spain I think Spain were too good and forced Sweden into playing too much in defence. In the second half against Slovakia the team showed more quality, created more chances and also managed to keep the defence tight. The secret to the Swedish defence isn't very complicated, the team has a good coach, every player has clear instructions and they all sacrifice and work for each other. Bare in mind Danielson hasn't played football for a while in China but still performs well which is a surprise for me. It has to be added that Larsson also is a defensive winger and not an offensive one like Kulusevski or Quaison or Claesson which gives more defensive balance.
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Emil Forsberg, Sweden
Image credit: Getty Images
If there is some criticism, it may be that the team aren't as adventurous going forward. Why is this and is it likely to change as the tournament goes on?
I think the criticism was exaggerated against Spain. Spain is a by far better team than Sweden and it would be incredible if Sweden managed to play football against Spain. However you could expect Sweden to be more intense in their pressure and also better on the counter. As I said before, I expect Sweden to improve their offensive game and freedom in the coming games because the potential to do well is there.
Is there anything else to learn from the win over Slovakia and what we've seen so far?
Kulusevski is ready to play again. So far Isak hasn't scored and Berg hasn't scored either. More than that we have Emil Forsberg and Viktor Claesson that need to deliver offensively. This means Sweden has an unexplored offensive potential that is still there and against Slovakia the team showed that even the wing backs can be offensive threats. Ludwig Augustinsson who's leaving Germany is an interesting player that should bring some points which would give Sweden more offensive threat than they've shown until now.
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