Tuesday evening was one to forget for Emil Krafth as Sweden’s hopes of a place at the 2022 World Cup came to an end. They fell at the final hurdle on their quest to reach Qatar at the end of year with a 2-0 defeat to Poland.
The Newcastle United defender started at right-back for Janne Andersson’s side but was unable to prevent either of the two goals. His team-mate, who plays his football in Poland, Jesper Karlstrom, gave away a penalty for the first goal, which Robert Lewandowski, duly dispatched before Piotr Zielinski wrapped up the win with 20 minutes left.
While Krafth’s performance went largely under the radar, there was a moment in the second half involving the Magpies defender which caught people’s attention on social media. Firstly, he was nutmegged by Sebastian Szymanski before using the ricochet from that move to elegantly roulette (formerly called the Marseille turn or the Maradona turn) past Poland’s left-back, Bartosz Beresznski.
