Nottingham Forest forward Anthony perhaps had his best match for Sweden on Friday evening, even though his good game fell apart a little when it came to finding the back of the net.
Elanga had multiple chances, and agrees with Sweden manager Jon Dahl Tomasson that he could have scored four. Sweden won 2-0 with goals from Erik Benjamin Nygren and Yasin Ayari.
The Nottingham Forest forward had a more senior role in attack than he usually does, thanks to the absences of Viktor Gyokeres and Alexander Isak. The Sporting CP and Newcastle United players both pulled out of Sweden’s squad due to minor injuries, and enjoyed a night out parting together on Thursday.
Friday saw rumours linking Elanga with a move from Nottingham Forest to Newcastle United this summer, after the Magpies weren’t able to secure some of their other targets.
Those claims made their way to Sweden and Elanga was inevitably asked about the report following Sweden’s victory.
[Fotbollskanalen](https://www.fotbollskanalen.se/sverige/elanga-om-newcastle-ryktet-mycket-snack/) quote the Nottingham Forest player as saying: _“There is a lot of talk. I focus on what I can do and my focus today was on the match. In football there are always rumours. The most important thing is that I focus on what I can control.”_
Swedish newspaper [Expressen](https://www.expressen.se/sport/fotboll/landslaget/anthony-elangas-svar-pa-newcastleryktet/) have more quotes: _“I guess there will always be scouts wherever I play. As long as I stay focused and do my best in the match. I just keep my focus and what I can control. That’s what I can do on and off the field. I focus on the next day and action. That’s what I can do._
He was then asked if he’s received a call from Isak, and hinted he had but joked it was probably about the chances he’d missed: _“He must have tried to call me about the match, that I should have scored.”_
Anthony Elanga is now set to miss Sweden’s next match due to personal reasons, something which was known way before the Newcastle United rumours and is almost certainly unrelated.