"I saw her and I had to look away, because I nearly shed a tear. It was an emotional game anyway. But when I saw her… oh my days. Whoever did that knew what they were doing, they really wanted me to cry on the pitch. Luckily what saved me was the hydration break. They still had her in the air like that," he laughs, raising both arms. "I just had to look away and drink my water. It was special, so special, to have them there."
Elanga, 24, sits outside at a table overlooking the training pitches at The KNOX, Newcastle United's training centre. He speaks with poise and earnestness but also a boyish enthusiasm as he considers the "surreal experience" of playing at his first major tournament. China and Blair, who was born last December, weren't able to attend his first two games in Mexico and Houston but made it to that Japan game in Texas, "the vital game, the important game". June became a deeply personal month for Elanga, who was part of a tight-knit Sweden squad that also featured Union Saint-Gilloise’s Besfort Zeneli - someone he had known since they played together at Elfsborg when they were eight. "It turned into a brotherhood," he adds. "It was a special time we had, and a bond we'll have for the rest of your life. Honestly, it's amazing. Now I've finally experienced it, four years is a long time to wait to experience it again."
Before the World Cup began, he spoke about his upbringing and the importance of discipline and kindness. Elanga was shaped by the values of his parents, Joseph and Daniella, as well as a nomadic childhood spent in Malmö, where he was born, and later Borås and Manchester. The way he carries himself is patently important to him. "It's a simple thing. Just treat people as you would want to be treated. I've carried that from when I was young. I think you either have that or you don't. You can work on it. But you've got to be disciplined to work on it. There's no point in being nice for two weeks if you're then going to be nasty for three months," he shrugs. "One act of kindness could help someone, it could go a long way."
That is not to confuse that friendliness with meekness. A viral video, taken at the end of that 1-1 draw with Japan, showed Elanga sat down on the pitch, visibly angry. It was wrongly assumed he must have misunderstood the competition's format; Sweden were through to the knockout stage, but to observe him at that moment you would think they were out. He nods at the suggestion that a little spikiness is required at times. "Oh, 100 per cent you need that edge. It's really important. Everyone's going to lose their head at some point. It's about how long you stay in that period for. Mine was just a quick ten-minuter.
"I'll explain that reaction to you, actually. I wanted to win that game and finish in the best position possible. I think if we'd finished second, a really good position, we'd have played Brazil, and I really wanted to play against Bruno (Guimarães). If we'd beat them, I could have took the mickey out of Joelinton as well! So I really wanted to play against the Brazilians.
"I adore Brazil - I really, really love Brazil, the way they play, the joga bonito, going back to the days of Ronaldinho, Robinho, Ronaldo. I just wanted to play against them because there’s something about Brazil I really love. Of course, then France came."
He was perhaps right to want to avoid Les Bleus, who sent Sweden home in the round of 32, but his time in the national team camp this year has buoyed him. He speaks about the "sweet, sweet moment" of March's win over Poland, who denied Sweden the chance to go to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. He omits the fact his goal in that play-off final helped his country reach this summer's tournament and laughs when it is brought up before changing the subject. "When I scored in the Japan game at the World Cup, after the game I looked at my phone and saw videos of different places in Stockholm, where they'd have the game on. It was just loads of fans celebrating the goal." He shakes his head again. "Moments like that, you never forget. You see what it does to people."
Elanga's summer was an encouraging one. He made his World Cup bow in the 5-1 win over Tunisia before a cameo and consolation strike against the Netherlands which brought a start, and another goal, against Japan. They lost 3-0 to France but this week he returned to his club "in a really good place. I've had time, during the World Cup, to reflect on a lot of things, on and off the pitch. I feel like I'm in a really, really good place - house in order, everything's good, family are good.
"For me, physically, I feel the best I've ever felt. I just feel ready to go. I've come back for the new season and it doesn't feel like I've been away. I'm ready to play, I'm ready to play as soon as possible - if possible, I want to play against Bristol City. I've only been here two days, but that's how I feel. I feel sharp, I feel good, I feel quick, strong. I just want to go out there and show it."
After joining the Magpies from Nottingham Forest in July 2025, last season was "the beginning of something for me", "a learning curve" in Elanga's career and life as he became a father for the first team before Christmas. His move to Tyneside came off the back of a campaign in which he registered six Premier League goals and 11 assists. There were flashes of the kind of sharpness he showed at the City Ground - his goal in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg at Manchester City caught the eye, while in March he became only the second player to score twice for an English club at Barcelona's Camp Nou in the Champions League.
He says he is learning to "stay present in the present". "It's all about staying in the moment and not dwelling on things too much. The difference between the elite and the good is how long they dwell for, they think about things. For me, it's just, 'think about it, move on'. That was my reflection over the summer and something I want to take into this season… don't think about things too much. If I've had a good game or a bad game, don't stay in that moment for too long. Stay in it for a little bit, then come out of it and move on and move forward with confidence."
Is that a process that comes naturally? "There's not one day you can't improve. You can improve every single day. You're never the finished article. There's always something you can work on. Probably the biggest thing you should work on is your brain, your mentality, because it all comes from there really - how you approach something starts with your brain, with your mind, with the decisions you make. You can work on it, and that's something I want to try and apply every single day."
Some players work with therapists to that end, Elanga says, "which is really, really useful." He speaks passionately about self-improvement and is fluent in five languages, having learned English out of necessity when he moved to England at the age of 12. Now, in quieter moments, he likes to read and study other athletes. "I want to become an elite player, so if you can take chapters from elite players and try and make it into your own, then you've got the formula there. That's what I try to focus on. If I can apply that every single day, it will just help my game even more. It's all about being open, really. And again, where does that start from? It starts from the mind."
He will wear a different squad number in 2026/27. Having worn 21 at Forest and 20 in his first year with United, he now takes the 19 shirt. He concedes it is a significant number for him but he is not ready to elaborate on his reasons for choosing it. As the new campaign approaches it is hard not to root for the articulate Elanga, who feels he has evolved over his first 12 months on Tyneside.
"I've grown a lot as a player, as a person. I've learned a lot from what I did last season. I've reflected a lot and I'm a different player now, I'm a different person from last year, from yesterday. I always try to forget about the past, but learn from it, and move forward for what's ahead. There are exciting times ahead. I've just got to focus on the things that I can control.
"I know last season wasn't the way I wanted it to go, or what I had planned in my head. But I know the type of player I am. I know what I'm capable of doing, so it's all about focusing on the now, staying present for the present and moving forward with confidence and precision. It's the precision before the pounce," he adds. "I'm ready for this season to start."
