View: Tottenham winger Dejan Kulusevski a bright spark in Sweden’s defeat
Sweden’s hopes of qualifying for the 2024 UEFA European Championships were dealt a severe blow as they were defeated 3-1 by Austria on Tuesday 12 September, with Tottenham ace Dejan Kulusevski grabbing a late assist.
Prior to the match, third-placed Sweden sat four points behind second-placed Austria, and a victory would have moved them to within a point of a qualifying spot in Group F for Euro 2024, which is set to take place next summer.
Unfortunately for Kulusevski and his international teammates, they were unable to pick up a win, and instead lost 3-1, as they saw Austria move seven points ahead of them, making their chances of qualifying for the tournament now incredibly slim.
While the 23-year-old Spurs winger will be left frustrated as he sees his opportunity to line up for his country at a major tournament essentially go up in smoke, he and Ange Postecoglou can both take plenty of encouragement from his performance.
Throughout his 90 minutes on the pitch, Kulusevski was influential. In addition to his last-gasp assist for second-half substitute Emil Holm, he completed 83 per cent of his passes, with five of those being key, and created one big chance. As well as this, he provided three accurate crosses into the box and completed 100 per cent of his long balls forward. (Sofascore).
Kulusevski was also effective on the ball, completing three of his four dribbles, and he chipped in defensively, winning eight of his 12 ground duels and making two tackles. After an underwhelming start to his league season, Postecoglou will be delighted to see his forward finding some form.
During his other match in the international break, a 5-0 victory over Estonia on Saturday 9 September, he was also impressive, as he scored and grabbed an assist while succeeding with four of his five attempted dribbles.
With the arrival of Brennan Johnson now adding some extra competition, Kulusevski will need to continue his fine form when he returns to Hotspur Way, in order to ensure he doesn’t lose his starting place.
In other Tottenham news, Postecoglou has made an interesting admission during his appearance on talkSPORT.