Elanga collapsed in despair not knowing his equaliser had saved Sweden at the World Cup

Anthony Elanga scored Sweden’s equaliser against Japan on Thursday, then collapsed to the turf in despair — certain his team had just been knocked out of the World Cup. He was wrong.

Sweden’s 1-1 draw in Group F left them third behind the Netherlands and Japan, but it was enough to advance to the round of 32 as one of the higher-ranked third-placed sides. Elanga, unaware of that calculation, spent the closing minutes urging teammates forward and battling through cramp in search of a winner he believed was essential.

“I just shouted, come on, we can go for more… I got cramp at the end but didn’t want to stop running,” Elanga said after the match, admitting he only learned of Sweden’s qualification once the final whistle had blown.

Teammate Alexander Isak had to set him straight. “He got a little scolding from me there. He was a little frustrated at the end of the match and you can understand that now,” Isak told reporters.

Goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterstrom, making his World Cup debut, was equally in the dark. “I was just as clueless,” he admitted.

Sweden head coach Graham Potter took the mix-up in good humour. “It couldn’t have been any clearer for him. He’s obviously thinking about something else, bless him. I love him at the moment, but dear me,” Potter said.

It was a turbulent group stage for Potter’s side. They opened with a 5-1 thrashing of Tunisia before suffering a 5-1 defeat to the Netherlands six days later. The improved display against Japan steadied the ship, even if the result left Sweden needing to wait to discover their round-of-32 opponents while the rest of the group-stage picture is finalised.

Japan will face Brazil in the next round, while the Netherlands take on Morocco.