Sweden's papers put a demand on its strike pair: 'make it work against Japan'

A demand aimed at the Japan match

The sharpest line in the Swedish coverage came before the Netherlands match, on FotbollDirekt's podcast VM-direkt. Analyst Mattias Eckerman said Gyökeres does not have the same field vision as Isak — there were many moments where Isak wanted the ball in certain spots while Gyökeres had tunnel vision. Against Tunisia it did not matter, Eckerman said, but against the Netherlands and Japan it has to look better. The Japan match was named directly. His colleague Fredrik de Ron agreed that the partnership is not yet clicking and that the two are a little out of sync in their timing, even while crediting them for a goal each and three shared assists.

The Tunisia win hid the seam

Sweden opened with a 5-1 win over Tunisia in which both forwards scored and combined for three assists. That scoreline is why the Swedish doubt is interesting: the result was emphatic, yet domestic experts were already looking past it to the quality of the link play. The reason traces to the calendar. Isak missed both World Cup playoff matches against Ukraine and Poland and was short of football for most of the spring, so the pair has barely shared the pitch.

Against the Netherlands, the pair went quiet

Then the test came and the front pairing did not deliver. The Netherlands won 5-1 in Houston, with doubles from Cody Gakpo and Brian Brobbey. Sweden's only goal came from substitute Anthony Elanga, who pulled one back in the 59th minute. The two starting strikers were left chasing space through long balls and finished without a goal. Sweden's lone moment came off the bench, not from the partnership that is supposed to carry the team.

The Isak question sits underneath all of this. In a commentary, Sportbibeln's Daniel Sörensen criticised Graham Potter for letting an Isak who had been injured for much of the spring play past 90 minutes in the opener — Isak reportedly asked to stay on and was substituted only in the 91st minute. Days later Isak trained individually rather than with the group. The Swedish federation framed that as precaution rather than an injury, but it is one more reason the strike pair has had so little continuity.

Potter's answer: they will get better

Potter has pushed back on the doubt from the other direction. Asked about the duo, he pointed out that it was only the second time in a year the two had started together, again because of Isak's fitness, and said they will get better and better the more they play. He called them a threat for any team if the side around them functions. That is the case for patience. The problem is that Sweden are out of group-stage time: the Japan match is the last one, and patience is a luxury for a team that needs three points.

What it means for Japan

For a Japanese reader, this reframes the match. The ordinary read is that Sweden carry two world-class forwards and Japan must defend deep. The local read adds a second layer: Sweden themselves are unsure the pair is synced, the pair was silent in the one game that tested it, and Sweden now have to win. A team that must win tends to commit numbers forward, and committing both strikers high is exactly what opens the space behind them.

That is the ground Japan have been winning on. Japan beat Tunisia 4-0 with Ayase Ueda scoring twice, and moved level on points with the Netherlands at the top of Group F. Japan top the group with a win and are very well placed to advance even with a draw, while Sweden cannot overtake Japan without winning. If Potter chases the game and pushes Isak and Gyökeres up together, the question is not only whether the pair finally clicks — it is whether Sweden hand Japan the transitions it used to take Tunisia apart.

Sweden still have the players to settle a match in one move, and a third-place route remains even in defeat because eight of the twelve third-placed teams advance. But the strike pair that is supposed to save them has started together only twice in a year, did not score when it was tested, and now has to deliver in a game Sweden cannot draw their way out of. Japan and Sweden kick off in Arlington on 25 June at 18:00 local time, 08:00 on 26 June in Japan.