It had been a tough time for Dejan Kulusevski’s Swedish national team. After making the quarter-finals of the 2018 World Cup, and the last 16 of the 2021 European Championships, Sweden did not qualify for either of the next two tournaments – the 2022 World Cup nor the 2024 European Championship’s.
As a result, Sweden looked to a new era. They appointed Danish manager Jon Dahl Tomasson – who has bedded through a number of young players, including Spurs teenager Lucas Bergvall. Results have been good so far, winning promotion to league B of the UEFA nations league.
Tottenham Hotspur midfielder has not minced his words at all
Due to the results prior to that, there had been plenty of criticism in the local media of the national team. After their win over Azerbaijan on Tuesday, Kulusevski was asked about the criticism, and came out swinging. The 24-year old said: “You are hungry. Everyone on this team wants to silence a lot of people, I think. There’s been a lot of nonsense.
There has been too much nonsense and too many people talking. So, it comes from there too. You want to silence people. Sometimes it hurts when we play well, and that’s something you like as a player. To go out and enjoy your football and show how good you are.”
After these comments, the Spurs man was asked what sort of criticism he was referring to. His response was: “You know that for sure. You know better than me. You know that. It’s two years. Tough year. But when it’s tough, you see people. How they enjoy it. And it’s fun for me.
Because later when it turns around, I want to hear them too. Because it’s easy to talk when things have been tough, but when things look like this, maybe it’s harder to comment.”
Safe to say that Kulusevski was not mincing his words there, and he has clearly found himself frustrated at all the talk within the media. It is also safe to say that he has been doing his talking on the pitch. In the aforementioned win over Azerbaijan, the Sweden captain scored twice and provided an assist on top.
This put the cherry on the cake of a superb collective and individual campaign. With the way seeding works, this promotion will help Sweden in their chances of qualifying for World Cup in 2026, as they look to put the end to their major tournament drought.