Rangers star Filip Helander played a central role for Sweden as they ended Spain’s long unbeaten record in World Cup qualifying – with the Ibrox colossus receiving praise from manager Janne Andersson and Manchester United star Victor Lindelof.
Helander replaced the suspended Marcus Daniellson in the side to win his 17th cap for his country with the Rangers star and his teammates coming back from a goal down to win 2-1 in Solna.
After Carlos Soler fired Spain in front, Alexander Isak and Viktor Claesson stunned Luis Enrique’s side to grab a famous three points and go top of their World Cup qualifying group.
Lindelof hailed Helander’s performance as “great” before manager Andersson lauded the “extremely reliable” defender after impressing.
“We defended very well as a team,” the Manchester United star said after the game.
“Filip was great, he shut down space, read the game and he was strong inside the penalty area.”
While the Rangers star was also praised by his manager, he wouldn’t commit to a second start for Helander when Sweden face Greece on Wednesday night, saying: “Filip did very well in this match and he did very well when he played in March.
“Filip is a player who is extremely good at taking in an instruction and doing it very well based on it. He is extremely reliable.
“But Marcus did very well during the European Championships. So I have to see what it looks like when we get to Wednesday and Greece.”
Rangers fans were also full of praise for the scorer of the winner in Sunday’s Old Firm clash with Celtic – with one fan hailing Helander as the ‘best defender in the world‘.
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