After a difficult first season at Liverpool, Alexander Isak will remember his World Cup debut for Sweden with the utmost fondness.
The Reds’ number 9 came into the tournament off the back of an injury-plagued campaign in which he scored only four times for his club and endured some below-par performances, not helped by costing a British record transfer fee of £125m to sign from Newcastle.
His opening match at the finals could hardly have gone any better from a personal and collective point of view, with the 26-year-old scoring the second of his country’s five goals as they thrashed Tunisia to seize the early initiative in Group F.
The Swedish media were naturally exuberant after that standout result, especially having been in the doldrums during a wretched qualifying group run only a few months ago, and there were plenty of plaudits for Isak.
Sportbladet hailed the Liverpool striker as ‘man of the match’ and noted that Yasin Ayari’s second goal of the night to round off the 5-1 victory was the only one in which he wasn’t involved, having been substituted shortly before then.
Expressen noted that the 26-year-old ‘introduced himself again’ following that performance, while Robert Laul of Goteborgs-Posten wrote: ‘The attacking star was involved in four goals and showed he is back in earnest after injuries and poor form’.
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Isak would’ve come into this World Cup with added motivation to prove a point to those who’ve slated him over the past few months, and this felt like a statement performance from the fit-again marksman.
In addition to finding the net himself, he also recorded assists for Viktor Gyokeres and Matias Svanberg, and he looked much more like the lethal centre-forward who excelled for Newcastle in the 2024/25 campaign.
If this is a glimpse of what we can expect from a fit and firing Isak, then Liverpool fans could be in for a treat next season, especially if Andoni Iraola can extract the best out of him.
The Reds will be heavily dependent on the Swede to consistently find his best form over the next few months, with Hugo Ekitike unlikely to play again for the rest of 2026 due to a devastating Achilles injury.
There’ll be much tougher tests to come for Graham Potter’s side at the World Cup, but the performance of the LFC striker against Tunisia hints that he’s getting back to his outstanding best, which can only be good news for Kopites.
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