Newcastle United winger Anthony Elanga scored for Sweden in a 2-2 World Cup qualifying draw against Slovenia.
Anthony Elanga opened the scoring for Sweden in their 2-2 World Cup qualifying draw against Slovenia as Alexander Isak remained on the bench.
The Newcastle winger started up front alongside Viktor Gyokeres in Isak’s absence and opened the scoring with a tidy finish in Ljubljana on Friday night. Yasin Ayari put Sweden 2-1 up in the closing stages after Sandi Lovric’s equaliser before Slovenia levelled again in the 90th minute through Žan Vipotnik.
Isak, the Premier League’s most expensive ever player, remained an unused substitute days after completing a £130million move from Newcastle United to Liverpool. He was sat alongside his former Newcastle teammate Emil Krafth, who also didn’t get on the pitch.
Isak hasn’t played any football since May and Sweden manager Jon Dahl Tomasson admitted before the match that the striker wasn’t ready to play 90 minutes yet after no pre-season and limited training.
“He is extremely professional and has a good mentality,” the Sweden boss said about Isak.
"He is very stable and controlled. We have no worries. He’s not able to play for 90 minutes, but he can be a game-changer.”
Isak wasn’t given the opportunity to be a game-changer for Sweden as he remained on the bench.
As such, Elanga was tasked with playing up front and made the most of his chance with a goal.
It continued a trend of Newcastle players scoring on international duty this past week.
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Yoane Wissa played his first match of the season following his £55million transfer from Brentford to Newcastle while on international duty for DR Congo. Wissa played 62 minutes, scoring and grabbing an assist in a 4-1 win over South Sudan.
Like Isak, Wissa has not had a pre-season or played any club football so far this campaign but Newcastle can be encouraged by his contributions at international level in his first proper game in months.
Wissa will be hoping to make his Newcastle debut on his return to England against Wolverhampton Wanderers at St James’ Park on September 13.
Elanga and Wissa weren’t the only Newcastle players to score on international duty this week. Magpies captain Bruno Guimaraes scored his second international goal for Brazil in a 3-0 win against Chile.
Guimaraes started and finished a swift attacking move, volleying the ball in on the line to confirm victory for the five-time World Cup winners.
NUFC internationals
Elsewhere, William Osula’s international debut was delayed as he remained on the bench during Denmark’s 0-0 draw against Scotland.
Sandro Tonali started Italy’s 5-0 win over Estonia before being taken off in the closing stages.
New signing Nick Woltemade endured a frustrating evening for Germany as they suffered a shock 2-0 defeat against Martin Dubravka’s Slovakia in Bratislava. He will be hoping for a better display against Northern Ireland in Cologne on Sunday.
Dan Burn, Anthony Gordon and Tino Livramento are all in action for England with World Cup qualifier matches against Andorra and Serbia.
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