Alan Shearer and jamie carragher are in perfect sync over the embarrassing performance of two newcastle players in Sweden defeat against kosovo

Swedish media react to Newcastle’s Anthony Elanga and Emil Krafth’s performances in shock defeat to Kosovo

Newcastle United players Anthony Elanga and Emil Krafth were in action as Sweden fell to a shock 2-0 defeat to Kosovo on Monday night.

The game should have been an easy three points for the yellows, but now their hopes of qualifying for the World Cup have been left hanging by a thread after a poor performance at the Stadiumi Fadil Vokkri.

Two Newcastle United players appeared during the game, with Anthony Elanga being named in Jon Dahl Tomasson’s starting XI, while defender Emil Krafth made it off the bench after getting no minutes against Slovenia last week.

Elsewhere, former Newcastle man Alexander Isak played his first game since joining Liverpool, putting in a muted performance for the final 15 minutes of the game.

It was a shocking defeat for Sweden, who are 66 places above Kosovo in the FIFA rankings. With two Newcastle players having a night to forget, here is how the Swedish media described their performance.

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Anthony Elanga chases down a ball during an international game between Kosovo and Sweden.

Photo by ARMEND NIMANI/AFP via Getty Images

Freddie Ljungberg was shocked at Elanga’s substitution against Slovenia, believing he would have helped secure the three points if he stayed on the pitch. Unfortunately for Elanga, he was taken off again before full-time, replacing Isak.

Krafth was a 66th-minute substitute for Sweden, picking up a yellow card a minute after Isak’s booking. His involvement was not enough to get Sweden back into the game, and even Isak could not do anything to stop the rut.

While Swedish media were positive about Elanga against Slovenia, it was the complete opposite when assessing his performance in Kosovo.

Fotbollskanalen did not give Elanga a rating, but said, “Not nearly as good as against Slovenia. Was invisible and threatened far too rarely.”

Elsewhere, Svenskafans rated Elanga just 1/5, saying: “Anonymous. Had a good performance in the first half, otherwise just bad passes and poor crosses throughout.”

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Krafth is known as a utility man on Tyneside, a defender who can play at right-back and centre-back where required. The 31-year-old has always been a handy person to have at the club whenever Eddie Howe needs someone to keep things tight for the final 20 minutes of a game, or to come in when there are injuries.

He appears to have the same role for his national team. In this case, he was a player desperately trying to make some sort of impact before the final whistle – to no avail.

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Elanga and Krafth will return to Newcastle training injury-free, but their confidence may have taken a beating following two rather disappointing games.

Fotbollskanalen did not give Krafth a rating, saying: “Jumped into the middle in the second half when Sweden was down 0-2 and chasing a reduction. Wasn’t put on any direct tests.”

Finally, Svenskafans gave Krafth a sorry 2/5, they said: “Gets a second place because he didn’t get carried away like the rest of the back line and clearly better than Hjalmar Ekdahl.