Alexander Isak took a huge step towards full fitness by playing his first full 90 minutes in almost five months as Sweden lost 2-0 to Switzerland on Friday.
After four starts and two substitute appearances for the Premier League champions over the last four weeks, Isak was finally able to complete his first 90 minutes of the campaign in Solna on Friday.
It was his first since the final day of last season with Newcastle – a 1-0 loss to Everton.
However, the striker – who started alongside £64 million Arsenal forward Viktor Gyokeres – was unable to help Sweden secure a first win of the qualifying campaign.
In the end, Jon Dahl Tomasson’s side fell to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Switzerland after goals from Granit Xhaka and Johan Manzambi.
But it should have been a different story for the home side, who had several golden opportunities to break the deadlock before Xhaka’s penalty midway through the second half.
“Quick in the flesh – and in the head”
That Bergvall miss against Switzerland ? pic.twitter.com/LDLPORAhA0
— Gaenti (@SenseiKyuzo) October 10, 2025
One of those chances came after Isak’s restored sharpness saw him capitalise on a hesitant piece of defending by Manuel Akanji and race half the length of the field to square the ball across the face of goal – only for Tottenham‘s Lucas Bergvall to miss from six yards out.
Isak, though, was one of the only members of the Sweden squad to end the night with any sort of credit as the match allowed him to take huge strides towards returning to both form and fitness.
In fact, Swedish publication Expressen described Liverpool’s No. 9 as “quick in the flesh – and in the head.”
Meanwhile, Fotbollskanalen rued Bergvall’s miss, insisting the midfielder should have done better to earn Isak an assist on his full outing in 138 days.
Isak also hit the inside of the post with an effort in the 26th minute, on a night that saw Sweden fail to manage a single shot on target.
The Swede has endured a disrupted start to the new season after not featuring for Newcastle in the summer before his acrimonious deadline day exit last month.
As a result, he arrived on Merseyside without 90 minutes under his belt since May and in need of his own bespoke fitness plan.
The situation has meant that Liverpool have had to keep a close eye on the 26-year-old as he has spent the early weeks of his Anfield career rotating with Hugo Ekitike in order to build up his match fitness.
Regardless of the result, Friday’s match in Sweden can only be viewed as good news for Liverpool, with Isak now nearing the end of his ‘mini pre-season’ just in time for Man United‘s visit to Anfield next weekend.
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