The centre-back is one of the players that national team captain Jon Dahl Tomasson sees as a leader in the team. He didn't hide the fact that the start against Estonia – a 3–0 win in the Nations League – was shaky.
But he didn't experience it as that bad and dangerous as it may have looked.
It's not more than I think they come out and shock us. It's more that we need to do it better, so to speak.
"Fun and challenging"
He is one of the players Tomasson has given the most confidence to since the Dane took over the national team last winter.
And he likes the role as central defender in a three-man defence.
Fun and challenging. We strive to play a defensive game where the opponents don't get much of the ball. We know what offensive strengths we have and we want to put them in play.
Generally, I think we've succeeded with that. We haven't played two perfect national team matches (2–2 against Slovakia and 3–0 against Estonia) but we're on the right track. We do a lot of good things in both defence and attack.
Despite only having 15 national team matches, he is one of the most experienced players in the team.
Praises the young players
He likes to see how young, hungry, and skilled players take charge under Tomasson.
They're fantastic players and it's fun to see that they don't just come here and participate, but really take charge, want to play, want to show off, and show what they're capable of. They come with the attitude of giving a lot for the team.
Sebastian Nanasi comes in and scores two goals, but not just that. He also works hard in defence, goes into duels, and I think Yasin (Ayari) has done the same, and both Hugo (Larsson and Bolin).
It's fun to see, says Isak Hien.
