Sweden vs Japan: Elanga's Impact Secures Knockout Spot
Japan and Sweden spent 45 minutes shadow-boxing. Passes went sideways, attacks broke down, and the game drifted. Then the second half began, and everything snapped into focus.
Japan struck first. In the 56th minute, a sharp, one-touch move sliced through Swedish lines and ended with Daizen Maeda sweeping home. It was the kind of goal that punishes even a moment’s hesitation, and for a brief spell Sweden looked rattled.
They did not stay that way for long.
Barely had Japan finished celebrating when Anthony Elanga dragged Sweden back into the contest with the sort of finish that belongs on a highlight reel. Picking up the ball on the right, the Newcastle United winger drove inside, opened his body and whipped a gorgeous left-footed shot beyond the keeper. Supposedly his weaker side. It didn’t look it.
That strike, his second of the tournament, did more than level the match. It effectively punched Sweden’s ticket to the knockouts as one of the best third-placed teams. The margins were tight, the calculations complex, but the equation boiled down to one thing: Elanga had delivered when it mattered.
From there, the game became a test of nerve.
Sweden, stung by their heavy defeat to the Netherlands, refused to retreat into themselves. They chased a winner, pushed their full-backs on, and left space that Japan tried to exploit on the break. The closing stages crackled with tension, the kind that makes every clearance feel like a reprieve.
Alexander Isak came closest to ripping up the script entirely. In the dying minutes, the Liverpool striker rose to meet a cross and powered a header past the keeper, only to see it crash against the crossbar. He stood for a moment in disbelief, hands on head, as the chance – and a famous comeback win – clattered away.
Sweden survived the final flurry. The point was enough. They finished third in Group F, tucked in behind the Netherlands and Japan, and safely through.
On the touchline, though, the mood was less serene. The Swedish bench spent the final minutes furiously working through permutations, trying to relay scenarios to the players. Elanga, it turned out, wasn’t listening.
"I was just screaming: 'Come on, we can go for more'. I’m glad we’re through, I didn’t know that at the end," he admitted afterwards. While staff tried to shout instructions and updates, the 24-year-old kept charging forward, cramping up yet refusing to slow down.
"I think they were trying to scream to me," Elanga said. "I obviously wanted to keep running. I got cramp at the end but didn't want to stop running. I'm happy and the whole team is too."
Isak could only shake his head. He revealed he gave Elanga "a bit of a telling-off" once he realised the winger had no idea Sweden were already in a qualifying position. "He was a little frustrated towards the end of the match, and you can understand why now," the striker sighed.
Graham Potter chose laughter over frustration. The Sweden manager, who had rolled the dice with a reshaped side, could afford to be amused.
"That explains a few things. We couldn't have been clearer... Bless him! But I love him," he joked, the tension of the previous 90 minutes finally lifting. Captain Victor Lindelof joined in, quipping that Elanga "can't have been awake enough" in the pre-match briefing when the permutations were laid out.
Behind the humour sat a set of big calls that had paid off. Potter had turned to his squad depth for this decisive group game, restoring Elanga to the starting XI and handing the gloves to Jacob Widell Zetterstrom. The response was exactly what he demanded after the bruising loss to the Netherlands.
"We analysed the game against the Netherlands. We had to defend the box and wide areas better [today]. We decided to use Jacob's attributes because I think he's a fantastic goalkeeper. His distribution was very impressive. Anthony comes in and offers a counter-attack threat and his pace is destabilising for the opponent," Potter explained.
The tweaks gave Sweden a sharper edge and a calmer base. Widell Zetterstrom’s composure with the ball allowed them to build more intelligently. Elanga’s direct running stretched Japan and gave Sweden a constant outlet whenever pressure built.
The reward is a route that avoids Brazil, who now face Japan, but there is no sense of an easy path from here. By finishing third, Sweden are likely to meet the winner of Group I on June 30, with France and Norway still to decide that pool. Germany, victors in Group E, also loom as a potential opponent.
Elanga, unsurprisingly, is not flinching.
"Both are good teams. It will be a challenge. All teams are good, but we are ready for what comes," he said, as matter-of-fact as his finish had been ruthless.
Four points. A neutral goal difference. A team that looked shaken after the Netherlands defeat now walks into the knockouts with a restored sense of self and a winger who quite literally ran until he could no longer feel his legs.
Sweden are still some distance from the giants of this tournament. But with their belief rebuilt and their margins finally falling their way, who will be eager to draw them next?
