Anthony Elanga has put pain in a post-match interview down to not realising his goal against Japan would send Sweden to the World Cup 2026 knockout stage.
On his full finals debut, Elanga scored for a second consecutive match to earn the Blagult a 1-1 draw in their closing group stage contest and a last-32 meeting with France, Norway, Germany or Switzerland.
“I got a cramp at the end but I didn’t want to stop,” said Elanga, whose side recovered from a 5-1 defeat to the Netherlands on matchday two to finish third in Group F, on four points.
“I have cramp, so it hurts while I’m standing here. I was just screaming ‘come on – we can go for more’. I screamed it in English.
“I didn’t know at the end that we were through. They tried to scream at me beforehand that we only needed one point. I just wanted to keep running.”
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Sweden vs Japan: Elanga World Cup goal ‘instinctive’
Celtic’s Daizen Maeda had put Japan ahead and Sweden’s progress in doubt six minutes before Elanga, who cost Newcastle £52 million from Nottingham Forest last July, took on two players and cut inside from the right before finding the far corner of the net with an exquisite long-range curler in the 62nd minute in Arlington.
“It was more instinctive,” Elanga said. “Instinctively, you train on things like this every single day.
“The coaches will tell you this is something I work on every single day and, when you’re in situations like that, it’s more about just focusing on the contact more than the shot.
“It set the tone of the game and we had the momentum until the end. We could have created more opportunities and scored.”
| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 4 | +6 | 7 |
| Japan | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 5 |
| Sweden | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 4 |
| Tunisia | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 12 | -10 | 0 |
World Cup 2026: Isak Hien ‘didn’t look great’
Sweden head coach Graham Potter changed three players, bringing in Elanga for Benjamin Nygren, Jacob Widell Zetterstrom for goalkeeper Kristoffer Nordfeldt and Elliot Stroud for Jesper Karlstrom in midfield.
“I’m happy to get to start because representing Sweden at this tournament is the greatest thing there is,” said Elanga, who called Isak Hien “important” after the Atalanta defender was forced off when he appeared to overstretch during the first half.
“I haven’t seen him yet but it didn’t look too great. I’m happy for the sake of everyone who played and I’m going to check on Isak.”
Sweden World Cup fixtures: ‘All big teams’
Sweden’s showing was respectable against a Japan side who are 10 matches unbeaten, having defeated teams including Brazil and England in friendlies before drawing 2-2 with the Netherlands at the finals and thrashing Tunisia 4-0.
“Every game is a challenge,” Elanga said of the prospect of being underdogs in the knockout phase.
“You’ve seen Japan, who are unbeaten in a long time. France, Germany, Norway – they’re all big teams, so we’ve just got to take what comes and focus on that.”
Anthony Elanga stats: Sweden, Newcastle
Elanga did not score in the Premier League last season and contributed a single assist in the top flight, although he scored twice in the Champions League with a double in the Magpies’ 7-2 closing defeat at Barcelona.
The 27-year-old also struck in Newcastle’s final match of their EFL Cup title defence, losing 3-1 at Manchester City.
He has been comparatively prolific for Sweden, scoring five times in his last 13 appearances including the opener in their World Cup play-off against Poland in March, when they won 3-2 at home to reach the finals.
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