Kulusevski leads Sweden to victory alongside Bergvall

Dejan Kulusevski's first outing as Sweden captain ended in a 3-1 away victory over Azerbaijan in the UEFA Nations League on Thursday night.

Given the armband by new national team coach Jon Dahl Tomasson for this international break, 'Deki' led his side out in Baku as second-half strikes from Alexander Isak and Victor Gyokeres put the Swedes in a commanding position before Renat Dadashov's consolation eight minutes from time.

The newly named Swedish skipper eyed a strong start to their League C campaign in the build-up but had goalkeeper Viktor Johansson to thank for keeping it goalless in the first half as he twice denied Ramil Sheydaev, first from point-blank range just three minutes in before saving his penalty in first-half stoppage time.

However, the Blue and Yellow clicked into gear after the break as Gyokeres turned provider for Isak's brace in six second-half minutes before converting a spot kick in the 80th minute, with Lucas Bergvall introduced on 72 minutes to earn his second cap and first as a Spurs player.

Despite Dadashov heading in to reduce the arrears in the closing stages, Sweden held their two-goal advantage - helped by Deki's full shift to lead by example with the armband on his 40th cap - as their first away victory under Tomasson got them off to the perfect start in Group C1.

Up next, our Swedish duo take on Estonia at Strawberry Arena in Stockholm on Sunday evening (7.45pm UK).

Dejan Kulusevski 💛💙

🎟️ https://t.co/gcJ5hruqAV pic.twitter.com/ZtvKnJnkjN

— Svensk Fotboll (@svenskfotboll) September 5, 2024

Friday 6 September

Ben Davies and Brennan Johnson - Wales home UEFA Nations League qualifier against Turkey - 7.45pm
Radu Dragusin - Romania away UEFA Nations League match against Kosovo - kick-off 7.45pm
Manor Solomon - Israel away UEFA Nations League match against Belgium - kick-off 7.45pm
Destiny Udogie and Guglielmo Vicario - Italy away UEFA Nations League match against France - kick-off 7.45pm
Yves Bissouma - Mali home Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Mozambique - kick-off 8pm
Pape Matar Sarr - Senegal home Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Burkina Faso - kick-off 8pm
Archie Gray - England Under-21s away European Under-21 Championship qualifier against Northern Ireland - kick-off 7.45pm
Wilson Odobert - France Under-21s home European Under-21 Championship qualifier against Slovenia - kick-off 5.30pm
Josh Keeley - Republic of Ireland Under-21s away European Under-21 Championship qualifier against Turkey - kick-off 5.45pm
Luca Gunter, Ashley Phillips and Dane Scarlett - England Under-20s Elite League away friendly against Turkey - kick-off 5pm
George Feeney - Wales Under-17s friendly against Qatar in Spain - kick-off 4pm
Leon Myrtaj - Albania Under-17s home friendly against Luxembourg