Tottenham Hotspur’s Dejan Kulusevski registered an assist in Sweden’s 1-0 friendly win over Albania on Monday.
It was new Sweden manager Jon Dahl Tomasson’s first success with the national team, after suffering a 5-2 defeat against Portugal last week.
According to Fotboll Direkt, the Tottenham player gave a ‘fiery speech’ inside the dressing room before the clash against Albania.
The winger, who played the full 90 minutes, has revealed that he took inspiration from Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou to motivate his teammates.
“I copied my coach at Tottenham [Ange Postecoglou] and went with it. I think the boys liked it, so I’ll do it again next time,” he said.
The 23-year-old didn’t reveal exactly what he said and a little detail has now been shared by the national coach. He’s pleased the Spurs man has stepped up to take more responsibility for the national team.
“Dejan is taking more and more responsibility. I like that. We need more of those players who take responsibility. Victor [Lindelöf] and Robin [Olsen] are doing that. But we need more players who do that. It helps us in the end.”
Although Sweden’s latest win obviously please the Kulusevski, he has expressed his disappointment with lack of support for the home team in Gothenburg.
Speaking to Fotbollskanalen, the Tottenham attacker has urged Sweden’s supporters to back the national team in large numbers.
“It’s very sad. I think it’s so sad. I think we should all get together and do this together. We all want Sweden to play well and be one of the best in the world, and you can do that if you help the players too. You don’t help by just criticising and not showing your support. So it would be nice to get everyone together and help us,” Kulusevski added.
