Isak - Gyokeres stars are helpless, Sweden shockingly lost to Kosovo

(NLDO) – The star-studded Swedish team faced disaster when they suffered an unbelievable 0-2 defeat on the field of the 95th FIFA ranked team – Kosovo.

At home ground Prishtina in the second match of Group B of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Europe, Kosovo won one of the most impressive victories in its history of existence and development in just 9 years.

Sweden struggled against host Kosovo

Manager Jon Dahl Tomasson left £127m star Alexander Isak on the bench but the Swedish squad is still very strong, especially with two stars Anthony Elanga and Viktor Gyokeres in attack.

Elvis Rexhbecaj and Vedat Muriqi score for Kosovo

From the start, Kosovo not only defended tightly but also counterattacked sharply. In the 26th minute, Swedish goalkeeper Robin Olsen blocked Elvis Rexhbecaj's shot, but the ball bounced right to Rexhbecaj's position and the Augsburg striker finished successfully, opening the score for the home team Kosovo. The goal was simple but enough to explode the Prishtina stands.

As the half progressed, Kosovo became more dominant. And just three minutes before the final whistle, Vedat Muriqi – now playing for La Liga side Mallorca – made it 2-0, giving the home team a confident start to the break.

Alexander Isak made his first appearance in three months and left a bad impression.

In the second half, Sweden went all out in attacking by sending Alexander Isak – Liverpool’s expensive new signing – onto the field. However, despite his reputation and tremendous destructive power, Isak was still unable to save the situation. On the contrary, after only 9 minutes, he received a yellow card for pulling the shirt of a Kosovo defender in a dispute.

Kosovo won convincingly against an opponent nearly 70 places higher than it.

Sweden could not penetrate Kosovo's net and when the match ended, the away team sadly left the field empty-handed, with only 1 point after two matches, allowing Kosovo to rise to second place in Group B, 3 points behind the leading team Switzerland.

Kosovo split from Serbia in 2008 and this small national team was recognized by UEFA in 2016. Nine years old, Kosovo has managed to leave behind some impressive achievements, such as beating the Czech Republic 2-1 in the Euro 2020 qualifiers, winning 1-0 against Greece in the 2020–2021 Nations League and…beating Sweden.

In addition, Kosovo has caused difficulties for other big teams such as England (scored 3 goals at Wembley despite losing 3-5 in the Euro 2020 qualifiers) or Denmark (held to a 2-2 draw in a friendly).

Source: https://nld.com.vn/dan-sao-isak-gyokeres-bat-luc-thuy-dien-thua-soc-kosovo-vong-loai-world-cup-196250909071935156.htm