Agony and ecstasy for Newcastle United stars as 30,000 away fans take over Strawberry Arena

Incredible scenes at the Strawberry Arena.

Saturday night in Solna, just north of the centre of Stockholm.

Bosnian fans taking over the Strawberry Arena.

An estimated 30,000+ of them in a 51,409 sold out capacity crowd.

A Nations League match between Sweden and Bosnia & Herzegovina that didn’t disappoint.

Sweden blew the visitors away in the first half with Newcastle United’s Anthony Elanga playing his full part, always a threat as he repeatedly ran at the opposition defence. Not always successfully but Elanga a key role in forcing Bosnia back and that pressure leading to goals.

The first one arriving inside five minutes, a great cross from the right delivered by Anthony Elanga and Svensson’s flick header seeing the fingertips of the keeper unable to stop the ball nestling in the far bottom corner.

Arsenal’s Gyokeres then adding two more, the second of which was a penalty just before the break that made it 3-0 at the halfway point.

It looked like a humiliating night in prospect for the visitors but the 30,000 plus Bosnian fans stayed with their team and inside two minutes of the restart Gigovic brought it back to 3-1.

Elanga was one of two substitutions made by Sweden on the hour mark but within a minute Bosnia had another goal, Kolasinac scoring to make it 3-2.

Brilliant scenes inside the Strawberry Arena as the away fans celebrated.

The final half hour saw Bosnia roared on by their supporters but despite throwing everything it wasn’t to be, as the final score was 3-2 to Sweden.

However, for all of those inside the Strawberry Arena, a night they will never forget with the incredible scenes on the terraces.

Newcastle United’s Amar Dedic played the full match and on a night that wasn’t a stellar one for either defence, he didn’t have the best of games.

After the 3-2 defeat, Amar Dedić said his Newcastle United teammate couldn’t believe the crowd, with 30,000+ Bosnian fans making up the majority of the 51,000 attendance: “My brother Elanga told me that this is truly special, that he’s never seen anything like it. I told him, ‘These are our fans; for us, this is normal.'”

Sports Dunia gave the Newcastle United pair the following ratings out of 10 and write-ups:

Anthony Elanga – 7: ‘Elanga’s first half was electric. He grabbed an assist with a pinpoint cross for Svensson’s opener. We also saw him test Martin Zlomislic with a driven shot from range. His dribbling always felt threatening even if not every move came off. Ten possessions lost show the risk in his game, but that chaos unsettled Bosnia’s defence. From our perspective his impact justified a strong rating despite an early substitution.’

🚨 SVENSSON MAKES IT 1-0 SWEDEN, EXCELLENT CROSS FROM ELANGA + SMART HEADER https://t.co/ECT4QXpwDI

— Polymarket FC (@PolymarketFC) November 14, 2026

Amar Dedic – 5.5: ‘We expected more from Dedic on both sides of the ball. He did get forward, producing shots and attempting a cross, but his end product was inconsistent. Defensively he struggled against Sweden’s transitions, often arriving late or getting dragged inside. One or two efforts from range flew harmlessly off target. His 88% passing was neat yet mostly safe and backward. Overall we felt he never imposed himself fully on the game.’

This is the November 2026 international schedule for Newcastle United players:

Thursday 12 November

DR Congo 3 Sierra Leone 1
Yoane Wissa volleying home after 189 seconds for a 9th goal in his last 13 internationals, a 3-1 final scoreline in this AFCON qualifying group win.

Ivory Coast 2 Gambia 1
Bazoumana Toure an unused sub for the Ivory Coast in this AFCON qualifying group win.

Guinea 2 Eritrea 1
Ousmane Diabate played the full match in this AFCON qualifying group win.

England 2 Croatia 1
Lewis Hall and Dan Burn voted England’s best two players by the fans as they were excellent in this Nations League win, Rogers and Kane (pen) with the England goals.

Czech Republic 0 Spain 2
Lukas Hornicek an unused sub in this Nations League defeat.

Friday 13 November

Serbia 1 Germany 3
Malick Thiaw with a very good calm and composed performance in this Nations League win, the NUFC defender playing the full match.

France U21s 1 Italy U21s 2
Aladji Bamba coming off the bench in this friendly for the final 11 minutes, with Italy already leading 2-1.

Denmark U21s 0 Netherlands U21s 3
Sean Steur impressing as he helped put the young Dutch side in charge of this two-legged European Championship qualifying play-off, playing the first 78 minutes and providing an assist for the third goal.

Saturday 14 November

Sweden 3 Bosnia & Herzegovina 2
Anthony Elanga impressing in the hour he was on the pitch, a great cross and assist inside five minutes for the opening goal. Amar Dedic playing the full game of this Nations League clash.

Sunday 15 November
Spain v England (Lewis Hall, Dan Burn) Nations League
Croatia v Czech Republic (Lukas Hornicek) Nations League

Monday 16 November
England U21s v France U21s (Aladji Bamba) Friendly
Germany v Netherlands (Malick Thiaw) Nations League

Tuesday 17 November
Netherlands U21s v Denmark U21s  (Sean Steur) European Championship Qualifying play-off
Bosnia & Herzegovina v Romania (Amar Dedic) Nations League
Poland v Sweden (Anthony Elanga) Nations League
Denmark v Norway (William Osula) Nations League
Gambia v Ivory Coast (Bazoumana Toure) AFCONQ
Sierra Leone v DR Congo (Yoane Wissa) AFCONQ
Eritrea v Guinea (Ousmane Diabate) AFCONQ