Sweden’s journey to reach the 2026 World Cup has been anything but normal. In the main qualification campaign, they failed to win a single match and had to call on a man who owes so much to the Swedish game to rescue them.
That man was Graham Potter. The former Chelsea, Brighton and West Ham boss made his name with Ostersunds in Sweden, taking them from the fourth tier to the Europa League. He spent seven years with the club, recording a famous 2-1 win over Arsenal at the Emirates.
Swedish football journalist Frida Fagerlund believes taking the job was a no brainer for Potter. “You can tell he likes Sweden and is very grateful for the opportunities given to him by Swedish football,” Frida told our Make Football Great Again podcast.
Potter was handed the task of guiding Sweden to the World Cup, after former boss Jon Dahl Tomasson had failed to get the best out of a talented group. On paper, this is something of a golden generation for Swedish football, but the team have consistently failed to show their talents on the pitch.
