Swedish media deliver ‘tough’ verdict on Newcastle United defender Emil Krafth’s performance against Estonia

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Newcastle United defender Emil Krafth was in action as Sweden beat Estonia on Monday night.

Sweden were without their main man up front, with Alexander Isak not called up by Jon Dahl Tomasson.

That was due to injury, with the Newcastle United striker suffering a broken toe. It has ruled him out of the Magpies’ last three games, but Isak is expected to return against Brighton on Saturday.

In the absence of Isak, Sweden have picked up four points in the Nations League. They drew 2-2 with Slovakia on Friday, then followed that with a resounding 3-0 victory over Estonia on Monday.

Emil Krafth came on in stoppage time against Slovakia, but completed the full 90 minutes in Sweden’s second Nations League fixture.

Emil Krafth shows his versatility as Sweden beat Estonia

Krafth was named in the Sweden starting XI, with Tomasson asking him to play at right wing-back. That gave him a lot of attacking responsibility, which is not really his area of expertise.

However, his position changed midway through the first half. One of Sweden’s three centre-backs was forced off, with Alex Douglas having to be substituted in the 26th minute.

That resulted in Krafth playing as the right-sided centre-back for the rest of the game, which is probably a more comfortable role.

Swedish media happy with Krafth’s performance

The Swedish media were certainly happy with Krafth’s performance, praising him for a steady display as he helped his country keep a clean sheet.

The 30-year-old was given a grade of ‘godkänd’ by Swedish website Fotbollskanalen, which translates to ‘approved’. In short, it was an acceptable performance from Newcastle United’s number 17.

On Krafth, Fotbollskanalen wrote: “Just like the whole team, had a tough start to the match. When Douglas retired, Krafth shifted from wing to right centre-back. Be stable without being shiny. Physical. A good open pass to Gyökeres in the first half.”

What is next for Krafth back at Newcastle United

But while Krafth will only be a substitute, he will have added importance in reserve. That is because Kieran Trippier is going to miss the Brighton game due to injury.

As a result of that, Krafth will be covering two positions. He will be Tino Livramento‘s right-back understudy, while he will also be on standby to fill in for Fabian Schar as right-sided centre-back if required.

That sums up Krafth’s importance to Newcastle United, even if he is not a consistent starter for Eddie Howe.