Thursday’s match against Georgia and the meeting with Spain on Sunday will decide Sweden’s World Cup qualifiers. Will there be a group victory and a direct place in the tournament in Qatar? Blue-yellow leads the group right now and for example a victory against Georgia and a cross against Spain guarantees advancement.
One who is tagged on what awaits is Dejan Kulusevski.
– Very funny. If we win these matches, we will go to the World Cup. It is important to win against Georgia and then make a good result against Spain, says the forward.
– You want it to live against Spain and then we have to do well against Georgia. Now you must not be stupid, think of something and lose everything. It is important to be humble. Georgia is a good team and that match will be more difficult than people think. After that match we can start talking about Spain.
For this collection, the competitive situation in the squad is different for Kulusevski. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is back and can take the place next to Alexander Isak at the front.
– It is clear that it changes, as Zlatan is here. Then we will see how it turns out, it is Janne who decides and I must respect all decisions. I’m part of something bigger. We have to get to the World Cup, it’s not about me having to play.
Kulusevski has previously also played midfielder in the national team and there, the national team captain Janne Andersson has opened up to use him again, even though he said that the Juventus player is primarily intended as a forward.
– I can play in other positions and I have never said no to play elsewhere, I am used to changing position. I hope I get to play and if I do, I will surely do well.
Right now, however, Kulusevski does not get much confidence from the coach of the club team Juventus, Massimiliano Allegri. The 21-year-old is mostly allowed to act as a substitute and most recently against Fiorentina it was zero minutes of playing time.
But the Swedish shooting star is trying to tackle the situation in a good way and see it as something that will make him stronger.
– Patience. This is a fantastic challenge. I love to play and I do not like to sit on the bench. We will see how it goes.
Kulusevski also hopes that any good efforts in the national team jersey will benefit him at Juventus.
– It puts more pressure, absolutely. It’s never wrong to be good. It can not hurt.
In the Italian media, he is otherwise rumored to be relevant for a move away from Juve, either in January or until the summer. He himself says he does not know what will happen this winter.
– I’ll see how it goes. I love Juventus and I like to be there, then we’ll see what happens. There is a lot of time left. But I have to start playing more and scoring goals and assists.
There is talk that there is interest from Premier League clubs, such as Tottenham, and this is something that Kulusevski views positively.
– It is good that there are clubs (who are interested), because if it does not work in one place then maybe it works in another place.
– But as I said: my focus must be on Juventus and to be able to play more. If I start thinking about other clubs, I think it will be very difficult to play more.
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