Tottenham star Dejan Kulusevski starred in Sweden’s 3-0 win over Estonia in a UEFA Nations League fixture
Sweden made it two wins from two in their UEFA Nations League group on Sunday evening, beating Estonia 3-0 at the Friends Arena.
The Scandinavian nation opened their UEFA Nations League campaign last week with a 3-1 away win at Azerbaijan and followed it up by beating Estonia. This means it turned out to be a fantastic international break for Tottenham Hotspur duo Dejan Kulusevski and Lucas Bergvall.
Just like in Sweden’s first game, away to Azerbaijan, Dejan Kulusevski was named in the first XI at the weekend. He donned the captain’s armband again but the attacker was given a different role by head coach Jon Dahl Tomasson. Having lined up in a 4-4-2 shape in the first game, Tomasson altered it to a 3-4-1-2 setup with Kulusevski operating in the pocket behind two strikers Viktor Gyokeres and Alexander Isak.
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Kulusevski did more than his share as Tomasson’s side scored all three of their goals in the final 15 minutes of the first half. The Tottenham star played a pivotal role in Sweden’s third—scored by Gyokeres—although he has not been officially credited with an assist. It was a picture-perfect move that involved the front three Kulusevski, Gyokeres and Isak, which would have delighted the head coach.
The Stockholm-born ace played the entire 90 minutes against Estonia at the Friends Arena. He was a constant creative outlet for the home side as the attacker picked up intelligent spaces and troubled the Estonian defence with his dribbling and movement.
Kulusevski achieved six successful dribbles out of eight, made five key passes, created one big chance, had six shots and won seven out of 14 duels. The 24-year-old also completed 59/69 passes with an 86% pass accuracy, which is extremely healthy for an attacker. His presence as a No.10 made the Swedish attack look fluid and flexible, with Isak and Gyokeres scoring a goal and a brace apiece. (Stats courtesy: SofaScore)
Spurs fans would have been delighted after witnessing Kulusevski produce two solid displays on international duty ahead of the North London Derby showdown against Arsenal. They will be hoping to see him produce a stellar display against Mikel Arteta’s men and help Spurs paint North London in white.
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Going by Kulusevski’s performances for the national team, Big Ange would find it difficult to leave the £110k-per-week 24-year-old out of his starting XI after the international break.
