How Alexander Isak and Sweden can still qualify for World Cup despite nightmare loss to Kosovo | OneFootball

Alexander Isak and Sweden will want to forget the past week in a hurry, but there’s still a chance of them qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.

Whereas his Liverpool teammate Mo Salah can look forward to jetting off to North America next summer after Egypt clinched their place at the finals last week, the Reds’ number 9 was involved in quickfire home defeats to Switzerland and Kosovo.

The 26-year-old was spared the worst of the criticism from Swedish media in the former game, but Jon Dahl Tomasson’s team hit a new low on Monday night when losing at home to the nation ranked 91st in the world (59 places lower than the Scandinavian side).

Can Sweden still qualify for 2026 World Cup?

The defeat to Kosovo leaves Sweden rooted to the bottom of UEFA Group B with only one point from four games, six points behind second place (which ensures a play-off berth) with just two matches to play.

Finishing outside the top two would ordinarily end a European team’s chances of qualifying for the World Cup, but Isak and co have a fallback option which could yet offer them a lifeline to claim a seat at the table next June.

The expansion of the finals to 48 teams from 32 has resulted in a format change to the qualifiers which offers a play-off berth to the four highest-ranked group winners from the UEFA Nations League who finish outside the top two in their World Cup qualifying group…and Sweden are one of those.

Should they salvage a play-off place, they’ll enter a four-team mini-tournament next March, the winners of which will qualify for the finals in North America.

(Photo by Michael Campanella/Getty Images)

Isak and Sweden still have hope of making it to the World Cup

Isak was only 18 when Sweden last played at the World Cup (Russia 2018), so he’ll be desperate to have the chance to prove himself on the biggest stage of all now that he’s in the prime years of his career.

If he’s to do that next summer, Tomasson’s side will need to improve rapidly from their woeful autumn form, with Kosovo having now done the double on them in their qualifying group.

The 26-year-old didn’t have a proper pre-season earlier this year as he sought to force a move away from Newcastle, and he’s duly had to build up his fitness during his first few matches for Liverpool in recent weeks.

Should Sweden fail to qualify for the World Cup, Isak will have all of next summer to get a head start on many of his Reds teammates who’ll be at the finals, in which case he should definitely be primed to hit the ground running at the outset of the 2026/27 campaign.

Of course, we’re all hoping he’ll have repaid a significant chunk of his £125m transfer fee long before then, and the visit of Manchester United to Anfield on Sunday would be the ideal occasion for him to net his first Premier League goal(s) for Arne Slot’s side!

You can watch Slot’s post-Chelsea press conference via Empire of the Kop on YouTube: