A few young players have had their dreams of impressing at the European Championships 2020 broken by injury or illness problems.
Joao Felix received only one replacement appearance for Portugal, Billy Gilmour missed Scotland’s last group game after receiving coronavirus and Matthijs de Ligt was absent for the Dutch opener against Ukraine.
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All three have since been knocked out of the tournament, as has the Swedish star Dejan Kulusevski, whose only start came in the 16-year defeat against Ukraine.
In probably the least desirable of all 16 rounds, the Swedes were led to extra time by Ukraine and, just when a penalty kick looked like an absolute safety after goals from Oleksandr Zinchenko and Emil Forsberg, Artem Dovbyk stepped up in the 121st minute to win it for Andriy Shevchenko’s side and put up a quarterfinal with England in the process.
For Sweden, it was a bitterly disappointing outcome, after finishing top in Group E before Spain, Slovakia and Poland. Unfortunately for Kulusevski, we did not see the best of the Juventus star when his country needed him in the knockout phase. Or actually a lot of him at all.
A tough exit for Sweden and Kulusevski / PAUL ELLIS / Getty Images
After coming off the bench to set up two goals against Poland with the permission of his powerful running and murderous final ball, the 21-year-old looked a bit sluggish against Ukraine in a game where players lost like flies with injuries.
Kulusevski played at the front along with other young prodigies Alexander Isak, a role he often filled for Juve during the club season. His movement was mostly decent, slid around the box and stretched Ukraine’s back three with his pace, but instead it was Forsberg who gave Sweden’s biggest goal threat during the match and in general throughout the tournament.
The former Parma star’s preparations for Euro 2020 were disrupted by a positive COVID-19 test, which means he could not face Spain. The good news for Sweden behind this tournament, however, is that they have the attributes in their current harvest of players that indicate that they may be serious dark horses in future competitions.
Kulusevski changed the match against Poland / Dmitry Lovetsky – Pool / Getty Images
Victor Lindelof was solid in central defense along with Marcus Danielson – the later terror tackle and the red card against Ukraine aside – and midfield workhorses Albin Ekdal and Kristoffer Olsson showed that they can frustrate sides filled with attacking quality like Spain.
That platform would be invaluable in the future for someone like Kulusevski.
Playing with someone like Cristiano Ronaldo at club level can be quite tough these days, given the physical effort required by players like Kulusevski to give the Portuguese space and chances, but his attacking return should only improve in Turin.
Sweden is not expected to win the World Cup or a European Championship at any time, but the tactical attitude from manager Janne Andersson was perfect this summer. They only dropped twice in the group stage and could have made the quarterfinals without Danielson’s madness.
2 – Dejan Kulusevski (21y 059d) is the youngest player to help two goals in a single game at the European Championships since Cesc Fàbregas (21y 053d) against Russia in 2008. Catalyst. # EURO2020 #SWE pic.twitter.com/j24YuJTM9V
– OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) June 23, 2021
Only two appearances will be a frustrating return for Kulusevski, but he showed his game-changing ability in the 3-2 victory over Poland and recorded two assists to help his side top the group.
The outcome is undoubtedly disappointing, especially against a side that only qualified as one of the best third-placed teams, but the structure and organization that Sweden showed throughout is proof that players like Isak and Kulusevski can shine even brighter in future tournaments.
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