Sweden clearly won against Italy in the qualifying rounds for the European Under-21 Championship on Tuesday night. The numbers were written at 3-0, where IFK Norrköping’s Pontus Almqvist stood out for two of the goals.

I was happy about it.

– It was really fun. We were super tagged, not every day you can meet Italy. I felt good and I was super labeled myself. It was a lot of fun to play, says the 21-year-old.

What does he have to say about his own two hits?

– The funny thing is that I have scored more goals with the right when in reality I am left-handed. I think I have the right foot these days. But it’s a lot of fun. As I said, before it was very labeled and you have to seize the opportunity when it comes.

In the last meeting with Iceland, Almqvist had to start from the bench; today had the opportunity from the beginning.

– Viktor Gyökeres got a red card last time, so I started to guess. So the message came yesterday and then I thought it would just show what I represent. It was fun to get the chance, says the Beijing forward.

You’re not leaving that place now.
– We’ll see. I’m going home and trying to do well on the club team now, so we’ll see what happens. But it feels good to have played this match and shown a bit.

– Strengthens self-confidence, of course. It’s a lot of fun to get the chance at U21, but also at IFK, that’s why they fought. I’ve been at IFK for five years, now the wind is changing too. It is a lot of fun to play.

Sweden is in table four with its nine points. Even Ireland, which leads the group (a more disputed match), there is a difference of seven points. The nine group winners in the playoffs and the top five group runners-up qualify for the final of the 2021 European Championship in Hungary and Slovenia.