Facing each other in the Nations League, Norway and Sweden’s clash on Sunday ended in a 2-1 loss for Dejan Kulusevski’s national team.
The Tottenham forward played the full 90 minutes for his country in the game and even assisted Anthony Elanga for the consolation goal in the dying moments of the game, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Erling Haaland’s two strikes.
Kulusevski has come off the back of a very good second half of the season, moving to Spurs in the January transfer market on loan from Juventus, scoring five goals and eight assists in 20 games for the London side.
He’s managed to recapture his good form at Tottenham under Antonio Conte, helping them reach the Champions League by finishing fourth in the Premier League, but he certainly wasn’t happy with how Sweden played last night.
The Tottenham man said: “We must become much, much better on all levels, especially mentally. We need to remove the fear we have. It doesn’t matter who comes here, it should be difficult to come here. It’s not okay to play such a half. There is no need to play if we are to play like that.
“We didn’t play, we didn’t know what to do. We had a good play in 45 minutes, and it’s not okay if you are going to be Sweden and want to do something big. We must stop playing with fear. It’s okay to lose, but can’t lose because we’re scared.
“The important thing is that it will take time for this country and we must have patience. We are grateful for the support we had today, but we must rise at all levels.”
The Tottenham forward added it might take a number of years to get it right, but continuing in the same manner was needed, because change wouldn’t help at this stage.
