TEENAGE FORWARD ALEXANDER Isak — dubbed the heir to Zlatan Ibrahimovic — became the youngest Swedish international in more than a century when he came on as a substitute in a 2-1 friendly defeat to Ivory Coast on Sunday.
Aged 17 years and 109 days, Isak — who plays in Sweden for AIK but has been linked with a move to numerous top European clubs — entered the fray in the 62nd minute of the friendly in Abu Dhabi.
“It’s huge!” Isak told Swedish television.
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“It was quite a tricky situation (with Sweden on the backfoot for much of the game), it was a defensive game, but it’s good, it was still cool,” he told the daily newspaper Aftonbladet.
Real Madrid are reportedly leading the chase to snap up starlet Isak.
Sweden are crying out for someone to replace talisman Ibrahimovic, now 35, after he quit international football in the summer following the Euros in France.
Gunnar Pleijel is still the youngest Swedish international in history, playing against Finland in 1911 at the tender age of 17 years and 72 days.
Meanwhile, Wilfried Zaha made his international debut against Sweden for the second time, having faced the same opposition on his England bow, prior to switching allegiance to the Ivory Coast, and the Crystal Palace star set up the winning goal to boot.
Additional reporting by Paul Fennessy
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'Next Zlatan' makes Swedish history
TEENAGE FORWARD ALEXANDER Isak — dubbed the heir to Zlatan Ibrahimovic — became the youngest Swedish international in more than a century when he came on as a substitute in a 2-1 friendly defeat to Ivory Coast on Sunday.
Aged 17 years and 109 days, Isak — who plays in Sweden for AIK but has been linked with a move to numerous top European clubs — entered the fray in the 62nd minute of the friendly in Abu Dhabi.
“It’s huge!” Isak told Swedish television.
“It was quite a tricky situation (with Sweden on the backfoot for much of the game), it was a defensive game, but it’s good, it was still cool,” he told the daily newspaper Aftonbladet.
Real Madrid are reportedly leading the chase to snap up starlet Isak.
Sweden are crying out for someone to replace talisman Ibrahimovic, now 35, after he quit international football in the summer following the Euros in France.
Gunnar Pleijel is still the youngest Swedish international in history, playing against Finland in 1911 at the tender age of 17 years and 72 days.
Meanwhile, Wilfried Zaha made his international debut against Sweden for the second time, having faced the same opposition on his England bow, prior to switching allegiance to the Ivory Coast, and the Crystal Palace star set up the winning goal to boot.
Additional reporting by Paul Fennessy
The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
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Ivory Coast Prodigy Sweden Wilfried Zaha Zlatan Ibrahimovic