Isak: I had some good moments at the World Cup, but not every game was my best

Sweden lost 0-3 to France in the FIFA World Cup Round of 16. Isak spoke to the Swedish media after the match.

The FIFA World Cup journey is over. How would you summarize your feelings now?

It's hard to put into words right now, but of course we are very disappointed and sad because it's all over.

After the game, you stood with the fans for a while, and you also greeted your family. How do you say goodbye to such an important experience?

It's hard. Because you never know when it will end, and it's never something you can prepare for in advance. So it feels heavy, but seeing family and friends always brings some comfort.

What do you think of your team's performance in this match?

It's hard to evaluate. Obviously, we faced one of the teams with the strength to contend for the championship, which in itself was a daunting challenge. But we had built up an atmosphere and confidence before, and we really believed we could do it. At least in the early stages, we felt we had a chance. We defended relatively solidly and created some opportunities. But obviously, that wasn't enough today, and we paid the price, which is a tough feeling.

Ibra said on FOX that you should have stayed with Mbappé on the first conceded goal. What do you think?

That's possible. I haven't watched that play back yet. But it was really difficult; they were very flexible in their positions on the field, and many players were constantly switching positions, so it was easy to miss someone. Maybe that's what happened with that ball, I need to go back and watch it.

What do you think of your performance in this FIFA World Cup, and your role on the left wing?

Everything feels very heavy now, and you don't tend to think about the positive aspects, but rather more about the disappointment of being eliminated. But I have always played in the position the team felt was best. I also gladly and proudly accepted this role, because it was for the good of the Swedish team. Of course, some games went better, some not so well, that's football. You have to keep working and bounce back.

Even if you accepted this role with a positive attitude, from your personal perspective, would you have performed better if you had played in a different position?

I can't say for sure. I feel like I had some good moments in this FIFA World Cup, but not every moment, every game. But as I said, that's football. Of course, I believe all of us, especially myself, have high expectations. You always want to do more, especially in games like this. You want to be the one who changes the game and helps the team win, so it really feels tough right now.

We previously knew that Potter had renewed his contract. What do you think of the future of this national team now? I understand that it might be difficult to think about these things at a moment like this, but how do you see the development going forward?

I am still optimistic. Of course, as I said, we are out now, and it feels tough. But if you look back at where we were and where we are now, we have made great progress. That's a fact.

You look at the top national teams, they usually have a foundation built on long-term accumulation and construction. So hopefully we can move forward with these experiences. I believe that in every future challenge, whether it's the Nations League, European Championship qualifiers, or the European Championship, we will get better and better.

Finally, what do you want to say to the millions of fans in Sweden who have been following you?

I want to say thank you. Thank you to all Swedes, thank you to the fans who came to support us, and thank you to everyone who supported us at home. We could feel it, and even in the pre-match analysis meetings, we saw these images, letting everyone know that the whole country was behind us. This gave us tremendous energy, so we are very grateful for everyone's support.

Did Potter show you images from Sweden?

Yes, we saw videos of people gathering and celebrating together. I think everyone usually sees a lot of this kind of content, but sometimes it's good to be reminded, especially in such a relatively closed environment, to realize what it means to the people outside.

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