Newcastle United winger Anthony Elanga played his part in helping Sweden to a 2-2 draw against Slovenia in the World Cup qualifiers.
There would understandably have been a lot of eyes on the game involving Slovenia and Sweden from those in the North East, with three players with some sort of connection to the club in the squad.
While he has left the club, many Newcastle United fans would have had a keen eye on Alexander Isak to see how he would perform in his first game since leaving for Liverpool. However, Sweden boss and former Newcastle striker Jon Dahl Tomasson opted against giving Isak any minutes, leaving him to watch on from the bench as his national team conceded a stoppage-time equaliser.
Elsewhere, Emil Krafth was also in the squad, but did not play, just like his former Newcastle teammate Isak.
That left just Anthony Elanga to represent the Magpies in Sweden’s starting XI. The 23-year-old has featured in all of the Magpies’ games this season, but has been unable to make much of an impact.
However, it was a completely different story when Sweden took on Slovenia on Friday night.
Anthony Elanga celebrates during an international game between Slovenia and Sweden.
Photo by Timothy Rogers/Getty Images
Anthony Elanga scores as Sweden fall to late draw against Slovenia
Elanga was not critical of Isak when asked about his move to Liverpool, even though he was one of the key reasons why he joined in the first place.
The winger, playing as a striker on Friday night, opened the scoring after 18 minutes with a delightful run into the penalty area, before a clumsy finish into the back of the net.
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While Swedish media were very complimentary of his first half performance, it appears there has been a case of Jekyll and Hyde for the Newcastle man, as his second half performance was nowhere near the required level.
Statistics vs Slovenia Anthony Elanga
Minutes played 61
Accurate passes 32/38 (84%)
Successful dribbles 2/2
Ground duels won 3/5 (60%)
Goals 1
Svenskafans said: “Does really well when he puts 1-0 after a dribbling raid, but apart from that he doesn’t create much in the offensive (area). Still a strong second because of the goal.”
Elsewhere, Fotbollskanalen said: “Great performance at 1-0. Impressed in the first half and threatened the home team several times. Lost and wasn’t nearly as sharp in the second.”
Anthony Elanga’s goal should give him more confidence at Newcastle United
Although he will not have his national teammates with him, Elanga can take a lot of pride from scoring another goal for his national team. It is now down to him to keep his form up once he returns from international duty and links back up with Eddie Howe on Tyneside.
Elanga will have two new attacking partners on Tyneside. Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa signed for Newcastle late into the transfer window, but have not trained at all with their new club due to the international games.
The hope is that Elanga can drum up a similar partnership to his with Isak with Woltemade and Wissa, and create another deadly attacking duo at the club.
Woltemade failed to impress during Germany’s defeat to Slovakia on Thursday evening, but Newcastle fans believe the towering striker did not get the right service for his style of play.
Elsewhere, Wissa scored an impressive goal and bagged an assist to help DR Congo secure a 4-1 win against South Sudan.