Liverpool ace involved in 'embarrassing' international defeat as Reds star takes step closer to World Cup
A handful of Liverpool players were in action for their respective countries on Monday night
Liverpool striker Alexander Isak branded Sweden’s loss to Kosovo as ‘embarrassing’ and admits the national’s teams current plight is “a bit of a crisis situation.”
The Reds record signing played the entire game against Kosovo as Sweden lost 1-0 at home due to Fisnik Asllani’s 32nd-minute goal. The result leaves them bottom of Group B with just one point after four games.
They had lost 2-0 at home to Switzerland last week and were beaten by Kosovo 2-0 away from home in the game before that. Their only point came from a 2-2 draw with Slovenia to open their qualifying campaign.
Isak had six shots during the game with two hitting the target while two were blocked and the other two were off target. The Liverpool striker admitted that the way Sweden are set up is not working as he spoke angrily after the game.
Alexander Isak reacts to latest Sweden loss
Kosovo are ranked 91st in the world, 59 places below Sweden in the world rankings.
“It's too damn bad. Embarrassing. Disappointed once again. Too bad,” Isak said to assembled media in the mixed zone after the defeat.
“I don't know [what is going wrong]. It's a combination of everything. We're playing too badly. The way we're playing doesn't work. We're doing it too badly individually too. So it's a combination of everything really.”
He added: “The position we are in with one point. I think, with all due respect to Kosovo, that they are playing very well. Partly because we are doing them well. They are perhaps better than you think, but I still think that we should be able to do better with the players we have.”
Florian Wirtz helps Germany to narrow win over Northern Ireland
Elsewhere, Germany held onto top spot in Group A as they secured a narrow win over Northern Ireland. Newcastle United striker Nick Woltemade scored the only goal of the game on 31 minutes.
The hosts had a goal ruled out beforehand for a narrow offside. Germany dominated possession but Northern Ireland had more shots and more shots on target as the 2014 World Cup winners escaped Belfast with all three points.
Florian Wirtz played 92 minutes before being subbed late on for Ridle Baku as Germany looked to eat up the stoppage time. The Liverpool ace created two chances for his nation and had a pass accuracy of 92 per cent with just three of his passes failing to find a teammate.
Germany know that wins over Slovakia and Luxembourg in their final qualifying games next month will secure their spot at the World Cup next summer. Liverpool defender and Northern Ireland’s star player Conor Bradley was suspended for the game so did not take part.