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Liverpool striker Alexander Isak came off the bench for Sweden as his country lost 2-0 against Kosovo on Monday — with the national media in Scandinavia unimpressed by the team's performance.
Isak was unable to turn the tide in the game and manager Jon Dahl Tomasson was questioned at the final whistle on why he didn't use the 25-year-old for longer than 20 minutes. It would have been a "risk", he explained, because of how long Isak has been sidelined and out of action.
Isak lacked his usual sharpness in front of goal — understandably after essentially missing a whole summer and pre-season — and Swedish media were quick to criticize his teammates and Tomasson following the damaging defeat.
Expressen reported that Isak had a "nightmare comeback" and that the overall result was a "massive disappointment". The pressure is now on Sweden to turn things around in the group after picking up just one point from a possible six.
Columnist Therese Stromberg added that the effort from the Swedish players was a "betrayal" and that the performance in general was "stressful". Isak was only partly involved, of course, with Arsenal's Viktor Gyokeres and Newcastle's Anthony Elanga struggling.
Fotbollskanalen added that "Sweden has to change the players or the coach" because the situation has gone stale. It added that Isak looked off his usual self after "burning" the whole of pre-season by training alone.
Sweden's neighbors, on the other hand, took a different view of the defeat. Danish and Norwegian media outlets, including Ekstra Bladet and TV2, reveled in the "humiliation" and "despair", suggesting that "warning bells are starting to ring".
"It's great that everything was settled before the camp and that I could focus on playing football again," Isak said.
"It's been a fairly new situation for me, but you always learn and develop mentally off the pitch as well."
"This was the maximum number of minutes I could give him," Tomasson told Viaplay post-match, explaining the decision not to turn to Isak earlier with his country in need of some inspiration.
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"We have talked in recent days about what risks there are and what is not a risk. It is extremely difficult to take a risk.
"I want to play him every minute. You can see right away that he is dangerous and creates things. But we also need him next month, the month after that, and next year."
Liverpool.com says: Isak will be slowly integrated at Anfield with some substitute appearances to begin with. There is no rush because Hugo Ekitike has started well under Arne Slot.
The Frenchman has settled in immediately with what the Dutchman is demanding and it will be fascinating to see how Slot uses both Isak and Ekitike together at the same time.
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