To get back to Dallas from Dallas Stadium — as it is known throughout World Cup 2026 — you have to drive past Six Flags Over Texas, an appropriately enormous theme park just off the highway, featuring no fewer than 14 huge rollercoasters. And as Sweden supporters passed by after their 1-1 draw with Japan, it was an opportune moment to reflect on the rollercoaster ride of their World Cup experience.This is a side who didn’t win any of their six qualification games, but were entered into the UEFA playoffs based upon their performance in Nations League C, then lucked out when their ‘away’ semi-final playoff game against Ukraine had to be held in a neutral venue, and they also won the coin toss to have the final at home to Poland.After winning both those matches impressively, at the World Cup itself they’ve managed to win 5-1 over Tunisia, then lose 5-1 to the Netherlands, before sealing their passage into the knockout stage with a disciplined performance against an excellent Japan side. A heavy win, a heavy loss, a fair-enough draw.Sweden are, put bluntly, really confusing. Especially to winger Anthony Elanga. He slumped to the ground at full-time and beat the ground in frustration. He didn’t realise 1-1 was enough. “Bless him,” said his manager Graham Potter. “We did tell him.”Before this match in Dallas, Potter said that neither of the 5-1s were 5-1 games — Sweden weren’t four goals better than Tunisia and weren’t four goals worse than the Netherlands, but football results are sometimes misleading. Tunisia’s tactical approach was so baffling — a narrow 5-3-2, from a squad packed with wingers — that Sabri Lamouchi was sacked immediately afterwards. Herve Renard, the inevitable firefighter replacement, hasn’t been able to salvage anything from their campaign.That victory probably offered false hope for Sweden; not just in the performance overall, but in the way Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres teed each other up for goals. These are two regular strikers for top Premier League clubs, but the reality is that, over recent years, they’ve rarely looked like a partnership on the same wavelength and they’ve shown little link-up play in the two games since.