Alexander Isak Return Slammed by Swedish Press After Nightmare Result

Alexander Isak endured a nightmare return to competitive football following his controversial boycott at Newcastle.

Isak made his first appearance since May in Sweden's 2026 World Cup qualifier against Kosovo on Monday night.

He came on as a 72nd-minute substitute for Newcastle's Anthony Elanga but was unable have a positive impact on the game, as Sweden were beaten 2-0 away from home.

The result leaves the Scandinavian side third in their group, having taken just one point from their opening two games. They now trail group leaders Switzerland by five points, with Kosovo in second on three and the Swedes only above bottom nation Slovenia on goal difference.

Isak has not played competitively for over three months after refusing to play for Newcastle at the start of the new Premier League season in an effort to secure a move away from St James' Park.

The 25-year-old accused the Magpies of breaking a 'promise' to allow him to leave this summer, refusing to be part of Eddie Howe's plans for the campaign.

Alexander Isak came off the bench vs Kosovo (Image: Getty)

His controversial behaviour worked, with the striker securing a British-record £125m move to champions Liverpool shortly before the current international break.

He would have been hoping for a positive performance against Kosovo as he works his way back up to full fitness.

But he struggled to get into the game and was involved in a heated incident with Kosovan defender Fidan Aliti, for which he was booked.

Swedish press slam Alexander Isak

Isak lacked his usual sharpness in front of goal and Swedish media were quick to criticise him, his teammates and head coach Jon Dahl Tomasson following the damaging defeat.

Expressen reported that Isak had a "nightmare comeback" and that the overall result was a "massive disappointment".

Columnist Therese Stromberg added that the effort from the Swedish players was a "betrayal" and that the performance in general was "stressful".

Fotbollskanalen added that either "Sweden has to change the players or the coach" - adding that Isak looked off his usual self after "burning" the whole of pre-season with his boycott.

Sweden's neighbours, on the other hand, revelled in their rivals' defeat.

Sweden were beaten 2-0 away from home (Image: Getty)

"Jon Dahl and Sweden humiliated by Kosovo," wrote Danish outlet Ekstra Bladet, as reported by Fotbollskanalen.

"Just two matches into the World Cup qualifiers, warning bells are starting to ring in Sweden," added Danish BT.

Meanwhile, Norwegian TV2 simply wrote: "Sweden in despair."

What did Alexander Isak say?

Speaking to the Swedish press after the defeat, Isak said he was still working to get back to full fitness after his period of inactivity.

"It's hard to know exactly how many minutes is right. It ended up being 20 minutes and it felt okay," said the striker, who added that he was unaware if Liverpool had made any specific requests to Sweden over his game time in the international break.

"Not that I know of. I'm with the national team now. It's clear that clubs and national teams have contact and communication, but that's between them," added Isak.