Japan vs Sweden: Elanga's Class Restores Parity in Thrilling Clash

Japan and Sweden spent 45 minutes sparring, misplacing passes and feeling their way through a flat, goalless first half. Then the game snapped awake.

On 56 minutes, Japan sliced through Sweden with the move of the night. Quick, sharp exchanges, a final pass rolled into space, and Daizen Maeda arrived to sweep home. A clean, clinical finish. Japan in front, Group F tilting their way.

The lead lasted barely long enough for the Japanese celebrations to die down.

Anthony Elanga, pushed into the starting XI by Graham Potter, took matters into his own hands. Collecting the ball on the right, the Newcastle United forward drove inside, shifted it onto his weaker left and unleashed a superb strike that bent beyond the goalkeeper. A leveler of real class, and his second goal of the tournament.

That moment did more than restore parity. It effectively carried Sweden into the knockouts, the point they needed to squeeze through as one of the best third-placed sides. On the touchline, calculators were out. On the pitch, Elanga had no interest in mathematics.

"I was just screaming: 'Come on, we can go for more'. I’m glad we’re through, I didn’t know that at the end," he admitted afterwards. He kept pushing, kept running, to the point of ignoring the frantic shouts from the bench.

Sebastian Larsson and the backroom staff tried to relay the permutations as the clock wound down, urging a bit of game management. Elanga simply refused to throttle back. "I think they were trying to scream to me," he said. "I obviously wanted to keep running. I got cramp at the end but didn't want to stop running. I'm happy and the whole team is too."

His teammates could only shake their heads. Alexander Isak revealed he had words with his strike partner when he discovered Elanga had no idea Sweden were already safe. "He was a little frustrated towards the end of the match, and you can understand why now," the Liverpool forward said, half exasperated, half amused.

Potter took it in good humour. "That explains a few things. We couldn't have been clearer... Bless him! But I love him," the manager smiled, relieved and entertained in equal measure. Captain Victor Lindelof joined in, joking that Elanga must have slept through the pre-match briefing on the group scenarios. "He can't have been awake enough," the defender quipped.

All of it played out against a frantic finale. Sweden, suddenly emboldened, hunted a winner that would have turned a nervous night into a statement. The chance arrived for Isak, who rose late on and powered a header past the goalkeeper, only to see it crash off the crossbar. Inches from glory, inches from disaster at the other end if Japan had broken away.

Sweden survived the chaos and, crucially, held their nerve.

Potter’s selection calls underpinned the result. He rang the changes after the heavy defeat to the Netherlands, bringing Elanga into the XI and handing Jacob Widell Zetterstrom the gloves. It was a clear message: fresh legs, fresh ideas, no room for sentiment.

"We analysed the game against the Netherlands. We had to defend the box and wide areas better [today]," Potter explained. "We decided to use Jacob's attributes because I think he's a fantastic goalkeeper. His distribution was very impressive. Anthony comes in and offers a counter-attack threat and his pace is destabilising for the opponent."

Sweden looked more secure, more dangerous on the break, more like a side that belonged in the knockout rounds. Four points from three games, a balanced goal difference, and, perhaps most importantly, a restored sense of belief.

The group table has thrown up one major reprieve. By finishing third, Sweden have sidestepped a direct collision course with Brazil, who now meet Japan. The Swedes, instead, are likely to run into the winner of Group I on June 30, with the France–Norway result set to confirm their path. Germany, already winners of Group E, also lurk as a possible opponent.

No one in yellow and blue is under any illusions. The road is brutal from here. Elanga, though, sounded ready for whatever comes next. "Both are good teams. It will be a challenge. All teams are good, but we are ready for what comes," he said.

Sweden have stumbled, adjusted, and finally found their stride. The margins will only get finer from here. With Elanga sprinting as if oblivious to the odds and Potter trusting his depth, who dares tell them to slow down now?