Alexander Isak and his international teammates received some extremely sad and startling news.
Two Swedish nationals were shot and killed in Brussels; it is thought that they were there to witness their country play Belgium on Monday night in a Euro Qualifying Group match.
The two victims were wearing Swedish national football team football shirts, according to Belgian media agencies.
gunshots taking place three kilometers from the stadium where Belgium and Sweden was scheduled to play.
Police are looking into terrorism in relation to the event.
Last week, Alexander Isak’s ailment prompted him to withdraw from the Sweden team.
Prior to the game, last night’s had lost all significance because Austria’s 1-0 victory in Azerbaijan meant that there was no longer a mathematical opportunity for them to finish in the top two spots in the group.
When Sweden entered the locker room at halftime trailing Belgium by one goal, the players and coaching staff learned about the gunshot incident.
After hearing the tragic news of the two deaths, it was soon decided that they didn’t want to continue the game, according to BBC Sport’s report (see below).
Due to security concerns, Belgium’s Euro 2024 qualifying match versus Sweden was called off before halftime after two Swedish nationals were killed in shootings in Brussels.
The murders took place in the city a few hours prior to the game and are being investigated as acts of terrorism. The shooter has escaped.
At around 21:30 BST, the decision to end the game was officially announced.
Before an evacuation started at around 22:45 BST, players and spectators were told to stay at the King Baudouin Stadium for their own protection.
The Sweden squad had a police escort to the airport, and the police also escorted Sweden supporters into the city.
Janne Andersson, the manager of Sweden, said that he and the players were only made aware of the shooting at halftime.
“I learned this knowledge when I came down for a break. I realized right away that it was wholly unreal. What kind of a planet do we now inhabit? said he.
“When the team started talking when I entered the locker room, we were all in complete agreement that we didn’t want to continue playing out of respect for the victims and their families.”
It is unknown at this time if the victims had traveled to Brussels to see the Euro 2024 qualifying match.
The Swedish Football Association posted on social media that “Our thoughts go out to all the relatives of those affected in Brussels.”
