For the first time in the history of the men's national team, Sweden has fired a head coach right in the midst of the World Cup qualifying campaign. There have been times when the Swedish Football Federation (SvFF) has broken up after major tournaments or had their contracts not renewed due to poor performance, but it has never had to make such a strong decision.
Jon Dahl Tomasson officially lost his job after seeing his team fall into a complete crisis. After 4 matches, Sweden has only won 1 point and is at the bottom of Group B. They have almost no hope of winning a ticket to the 2026 World Cup unless a real miracle happens.
But while the Swedish media focused on examining the Danish coach's mistake, on social media, the spearhead criticized another name, Alexander Isak.
The 26-year-old star - the biggest hope for Swedish football - is said to have lost form and spirit after a turbulent summer. Isak has just gone through a stressful summer struggling with Newcastle to complete his move to Liverpool.
However, it was the dream deal that unintentionally affected the national team's World Cup qualifying campaign. Isak seems to no longer be able to maintain his familiar focus and explosive energy every time he plays for the national team. In the last 3 matches, he did not score, did not assist and sometimes appeared lost in Tomasson's already disrupted tactical system.
After spending the entire pre-season of Newcastle on duty with the national team, Isak finally completed a famous transfer deal to Liverpool for £ 125 million. Notably, this contract took place on the last day of the transfer window. Therefore, it is understandable that his mind cannot fully focus on the qualifying match against Slovenia just 4 days later.
Tomasson decided to keep Isak on the bench - an option that made Arne Slot, Liverpool's coach, unable to hide his joy. As a result, Sweden only got one point when they conceded a goal in the 90th minute. The most satisfying Isak was probably the best player on the pitch. And it's hard not to imagine him changing the situation in such a tense match.
A few days later, Isak came off the bench for his trip to Kosovo and missed a big chance late in the match. The entire campaign began to take on the form of an "Isak circus". Every question before and after the match revolves around him - from his fitness, transfer deals to personal form.
"Not everyone has a comprehensive view, but it's a matter of the past," Isak said after the match against Kosovo. This statement quickly spread all over social networks, but at the same time clearly reflected his mood - fatigue and confusion.
Meanwhile, Sweden continues to sink deeper into crisis. By the October international break, Isak had made a few starts for Liverpool in the Premier League, but had yet to regain the destructive form he showed at Newcastle last season.
As of mid-October, he has not played the full 90 minutes and has only scored one goal in the whole season. In contrast, Nick Woltemade - who replaced Isak at St James' Park - just scored the decisive goal for the German national team against Northern Ireland, bringing his total score this season to 6 goals.
