Tottenham star Dejan Kulusevski helps Sweden to a 3-1 win over Azerbaijan in a UEFA Nations League fixture
Tottenham Hotspur star Dejan Kulusevski was in international action for Sweden against Azerbaijan on Thursday evening.
The 24-year-old has become a mainstay in the Sweden national team in recent years and is now one of their key players as they look to find a way back into international limelight having missed Euro 2024 earlier this summer in Germany. In Victor Lindelof’s injury absence, Dejan Kulusevski led his nation for the very first time in his career when Sweden opened their UEFA Nations League campaign against Azerbaijan in Baku.
The Spurs attacker played the entire 90 minutes in Sweden’s 3-1 win over Azerbaijan, helping Jon Dahl Tomasson’s side open their UEFA Nations League campaign on a high note. He grabbed the responsibility of marshalling the troops with both hands and showed his natural leadership skills on the pitch on Thursday.
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In Tomasson’s 4-2-2-2 formation, Kulusevski occupied as an inverted winger on the right. While he didn’t register a goal or assist, the Stockholm-born talent’s presence on the pitch was influential—both as a creative outlet and leader. The 24-year-old worked in the channels and attacked half-spaces against Azerbaijan, reminding the home crowd of his impressive talents.
Kulusevski made an impressive six key passes, played two successful long balls and one out of two accurate crosses. The left-footed attacker created one big chance, produced one shot on target, had 56 touches and pulled off one successful dribble out of three attempts. The Spurs man also worked hard off the ball when required and made two successful tackles. However, with only 24/35 passes completed, he could only muster 69% pass accuracy. (Stats courtesy: SofaScore)
Nonetheless, it was still an overall strong display from the Sweden skipper on the night, further demonstrating that even without an assist or goal one can influence games with his industry, intelligence, movement and link-up play. It was his first test as the captain of the Scandinavian nation and he aced it.
The Spurs fanbase will be hoping to see Kulusevski bring more consistency to his game as the season progresses. For now, we can only wish the Sweden international well for the upcoming Nations League fixture against Estonia.
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Hope he produces another strong performance for his nation and returns to N17 fully fit and hungry to tackle the gruelling schedule.
