Isak declares ‘crisis’ and ‘change is needed’ as sack demanded after Newcastle star’s sweary outburst caught
Alexander Isak has declared ‘a crisis situation’ with he and his teammates ‘so f***ing dissatisfied’ and one player demanding that ‘the system’ is ‘removed’.
Having joined Liverpool in a British record transfer on September 1, Isak might have expected his immediate future to look far brighter.
But the striker has scored a single goal in nine appearances for club and country this campaign after eschewing the concept of pre-season training to torch his Newcastle reputation and earn that seemingly cursed and entirely unnecessary move to Anfield.
While desperately short of match fitness for Liverpool so far, Isak has been able to complete the full 90 minutes in both of Sweden’s games during the October international break in a much-needed boost to Arne Slot.
Yet both Isak and Sweden as a whole failed to score in both fixtures, losing at home to Switzerland and Kosovo to leave Jon Dahl Tomasson’s side in grave danger of failing to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
They are bottom of Group B with a single point and only two fixtures left to play, needing results elsewhere to go their way to offer even the slightest chance of finishing as runners-up.
The home defeat to Kosovo was particularly chastening for Isak and Arsenal centre-forward Viktor Gyokeres, a strikeforce many might have ranked among the world’s greatest but which has collapsed under the weight of expectation.
One Swedish journalist described it as ‘the grand fiasco of all time for the Swedish men’s national team’ and manager Tomasson has now been sacked – with some rogue shouts for a recently-deposed Premier League coach to replace him.
Alexander Isak’s X-rated rant: ‘A change is needed’
“It’s too damn bad. Embarrassing. Resigned. Disappointed once again,” Isak said after a “sour” game in which he had six shots and only managed to do as much as force a save with two.
“I don’t know. It’s a combination of everything. We’re playing too badly. The way we’re playing doesn’t work. We’re doing it too badly individually too. So it’s a combination of everything really,” he continued.
“It is impossible to say that we are on the right track when things have gone the way they have. It is a position we have put ourselves in and only we can get out of it. A change is needed for us players out there on the pitch. We need to do better. That is how football works. When things do not work, you need to adjust. Look at other ways to win matches.
“We players are so f***ing dissatisfied. And as I’ve said before, we take a lot of responsibility ourselves. We look at ourselves in the mirror. And no one is absolved. Not us players, not us as a team. And that of course includes the coach and everything around.”
Isak said the players would not “get involved” in speculation over Tomasson’s future, choosing instead to focus on his own “negative development” over the last few months.
“There has been no progress and it’s disappointing,” said the 26-year-old, who felt this was now “a bit of a crisis situation” for the national team as “we have underperformed enormously”.
Isak also excused the supporters for booing at full time, admitting that while “it’s not fun” for the players, they “can’t demand much more” from the fans.
There was some credit afforded to Kosovo, who Isak believes “are perhaps better than you think”, but he added that “we should be able to do better with the players we have”.
Gyokeres makes telling admission
While slightly less forthcoming than Isak, who represented Sweden as team captain for the first time in this international break, Gyokeres aired his thoughts on the country’s dire form.
“It’s a mix of everything,” the Arsenal striker said. “Last game we didn’t have the margins with us, away against Slovenia it was the same, but these two games we don’t deserve anything at all.
“Of course it’s a fiasco.
“I don’t think we wanted it as much, it’s clear. We don’t do things right in terms of football and our body language, we didn’t want it as much. Then it will be difficult against any opposition.”
“I will not resign”
Tomasson, who defended the “extremely professional” Isak during the player’s Newcastle strike action in August, batted away questions over his job security.
“I have a contract with the Swedish federation and we are in the middle of qualifying,” Tomasson told Viaplay.
“Of course, it’s not good enough tonight and it’s a terrible result. It really hurts. We forgot how to score goals and I don’t know why.
“The supporters have every right to be critical. There are a lot of emotions and it’s black and white, but no, I will not resign.
“Right now, no-one is good enough because we are not winning. We have to do better, all of us. Not just me.”
But it’s Tomasson who has been sacked, with former Arsenal man Kim Kallstrom the man who makes the decisions as Sweden’s FA chief.
“In this situation, we need to analyse, of course, based on where we stand,” Kallstrom said after the game.
“I think everyone understands that this situation is not very good. We have one point after four games, so we need to step back and think and analyse a little in peace and quiet.
“We have full confidence in our national team manager – until we don’t. This is an extremely results-driven industry, everyone knows that.
These are big and important decisions, it’s not something to be taken lightly or done hastily. We haven’t spoken to any representatives of any coaches.”
‘I haven’t been this sure since Alan Pardew managed Newcastle’
While they are unable to finish top of their group, their final qualifiers against Switzerland (a) and Slovenia (h) in November could still offer a Nations League-shaped back door into the World Cup.
If they win both games there is a scenario whereby they could finish second, bridging a current six-point gap to Kosovo if they lose their final two matches and Switzerland beat Slovenia.
But failing that unlikely series of events, there is a March play-off fallback for the four highest-ranked group winners from the Nations League who finish outside the top two in their World Cup qualifying group.
That would apply to Sweden, who won Group C1 thanks to top scorer Gyokeres.
Anders Lindblad of the Svenska Dagbladet has called it ‘almost pointless to think about’ the alternative Nations League route because of how Sweden are currently playing, as a team ‘full of stars from the Premier League and other major leagues in Europe has crashed and ‘nothing is working’.
‘The blue and yellow are like one big sinkhole, bottomless and without salvation,’ he continues, adding ‘right now there is nothing to suggest that even a defibrillator can revive the national team. All that is left is to press the emergency stop to save what can be saved.’
Lindblad goes on: ‘With the individual skill that exists on several hands and feet, it should come loose at some point, but it has become increasingly clear that Jon Dahl Tomasson has run the ship into the water. There is no joy in the team, no harmony.
‘I have probably never seen a worse-playing Swedish national football team, considering the conditions. The lack of Dejan Kulusevski is enormous, Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyökeres are far from top form, but it still shouldn’t look as substandard and lacking in spirit as it did.
‘We certainly overestimate our Swedish stars, but losing twice to 91st-ranked Kosovo should not happen.
‘Of course, the association’s football director Kim Kallstrom is now busy finding possible names who can come in at short notice and give the entire national team an injection. Henrik Rydstrom? Graham Potter? Olof Mellberg?
‘Now it is Kim Kallstrom’s duty to end the national team’s pain this fall – and ensure that the national team gets a quick injection so that the dream of the World Cup can come true after all.’
Expressen journalist Noa Bachen provided perhaps the most damning assessment, writing: ‘There is nothing left to discuss. No ifs or buts. No nuances. No trace of alternative scenarios. No acceptable arguments for anything other than him being replaced. I haven’t been this sure since Alan Pardew managed Newcastle.’
As an aside, an eternal reminder of the greatest Alan Pardew anecdote there is.
Bachen also described the players as ‘completely broken’ by this ‘traumatising’ experience with the national team.
Fredrik Janlind of the Goteborgs-Posten called Gyokeres “completely ice-cold” – not in a positive Cole Palmer sense – “and downright bad in several of these international matches in the World Cup qualifiers,” adding that “many of the players have also underperformed”.
Simon Bank, a writer for Aftonbladet, called it ‘a total disgrace, perhaps the worst thing Swedish football has ever experienced’ – and he probably saw Tomas Brolin at Leeds.
Ljungberg laments ‘a complete disaster’
The punditocracy view is no less withering.
Freddie Ljungberg called it “a complete disaster to have one point after four games with that group” as “it is not that we have France, England or Spain” in there.
“What the hell is going wrong?” came one painfully existential question. “I am very disappointed. I may be a boring old player, boring old coach, but I try to look at the reasons. It’s tough.”
Alongside him, former West Brom defender Jonas Olsson said: “This is a disaster. You’re taking a new path and are going to play offensive football and play on the strengths of world stars. In that, you have one point after four games and haven’t scored a goal in three games. It’s nightmarish.
“It is so obvious that this is a team that is completely damaged in terms of self-esteem. When you concede this 0-1, you have no safe framework to fall back on. The last ten to fifteen minutes are so difficult.”
‘This f***ing system has to go’
For those in any doubt as to whether Tomasson’s position was tenable after overseeing a single win in five games and results as incriminating as a 1-0 defeat to Luxembourg in March, two revelations undermined any sense he can continue in the role.
Sportsbladet claim that Tomasson ‘chose to depart from his routines to minimise the risk that the starting eleven would leak out,’ deciding to reveal to the players his selection at 7pm, less than two hours before kick off, rather than the traditional lunchtime announcement.
It seemed to catch one player off guard as Daniel Svensson, ordinarily a wing back, was picked to start in central midfield despite not playing there since December.
The 23-year-old even admitted after the game that he had “not directly” trained as a midfielder during the latest camp.
But the most damaging report comes from Jonas Enarsson of Radiosporten, who divulged some of the contents of one particular player’s post-match rant in the tunnel.
“After the final whistle, I could catch Elanga saying something like…that this system has to go. I don’t know what that means,” Enarsson said of the “very frustrated and irritated” Newcastle forward.
On the outlet’s own website, they quote Elanga as dropping one specific expletive in there too.
He had gathered himself for media duties soon after to discuss the 3-5-2 formation, saying: “When you are on the field as a football player, it can look different. We on the field have to take responsibility and unfortunately it didn’t work today.”
Elanga also apologised to the fans, having been unable to turn things around after coming on at half time.
When asked about Elanga’s apparent outburst, Tomasson responded: “I haven’t heard what Anthony has said so I can’t comment on it.”
