Here’s a sentence that shouldn’t exist in football: Sweden is playing in the 2026 FIFA World Cup despite finishing dead last in their qualifying group.
Zero wins. Two draws. Four losses. Three goals scored and 11 conceded across six matches.
How Sweden pulled off the impossible
Sweden’s path to the World Cup didn’t run through traditional qualifiers. Their ticket came via the 2024 UEFA Nations League, where they topped Group C, earning a playoff berth regardless of how badly they stumbled in the standard qualifiers.
In the playoffs, Sweden knocked off Ukraine before facing Poland in a winner-take-all showdown on March 31, 2026. That match ended 3-2 in Sweden’s favor.
