Sweden head coach Jon Dahl Tomasson insists it would have been too much of a ‘risk’ to give Alexander Isak more minutes in the side’s shock World Cup qualifying defeat to Kosovo on Tuesday night.

Isak started amongst Tomasson’s substitutes in Pristina and remained on the bench until the 72nd minute, when he was brought on in place of Anthony Elanga.

While Isak’s quality showed almost immediately, Liverpool’s British record signing was ultimately unable to drag the visitors back into the contest, with a pair of first-half goals from Elvis Rexhbecaj and Vedat Muriqi proving decisive.

Isak’s only contribution of note in the match came when he was shown a yellow card in the 80th minute, before Kosovo’s Lindon Emerllahu was sent off at the death.

The result saw 95th-ranked Kosovo go second

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