Sweden’s 'great escape' complete as Potter clinches World Cup berth

March 31 - Sweden finished rock bottom of their qualifying group with no wins yet booked their World Cup spot on Tuesday with a frantic playoff victory over Poland as manager Graham Potter orchestrated a stunning 'great escape' five months after taking charge.

Viktor Gyokeres struck two minutes from time to complete a 3-2 win and settle their qualification playoff final, sending Sweden back to the World Cup after sitting out the last edition in Qatar.

Sweden’s qualifying path was statistically dismal. They earned only two points from six matches in Group B, with a friendly loss to Luxembourg in the same period. By contrast, Italy, whose World Cup hopes ended in a playoff defeat to Bosnia on Tuesday, won six of their eight qualifying games.

Sweden, however, had a safety net as a 2024-25 Nations League group win offered them a backdoor route to the 2026 World Cup via the playoffs.

Manager Jon Dahl Tomasson was sacked in October, with his time in charge viewed widely as a disaster.

His insistence on a man-to-man defensive system left the team exposed, while his reliance on communicating in English, despite the linguistic similarities of his native Danish, alienated both supporters and media.

The sacking cleared the path for Potter’s return to the country where he led Ostersunds FK to a spot in the Europa League. Potter galvanized a sceptical public by conducting his debut press conference in fluent Swedish.

Following an initial 4-1 defeat to Switzerland, the Swedish Football Association signalled its commitment by handing him a contract extension until 2030 just weeks before the playoffs in an early vote of confidence.

POTTER EFFECT

Swedish media report that the squad has rediscovered a collective harmony that served as the bedrock of Swedish football for decades, with the public friction between players and coaching staff that marked the Tomasson era now absent.

The psychological shift under Potter was most evident in the 3-1 semi-final victory over Ukraine on Thursday. Sweden displayed a clinical composure that had been missing during their winless qualifying campaign.

It was a far cry from the mental fragility and frequent second-half collapses seen under Tomasson.

Against Poland, that composure was even more evident as Sweden were twice pegged back but scored late to secure their place at the World Cup.

"We have very good players and strong leadership, which has helped us a lot since they came in. We all appreciate them greatly. They have created an environment where we can simply enjoy our football," goalscorer Anthony Elanga told Swedish media after the win over Poland.

"We defend together and attack together. I think that is the most important thing."

Tuesday’s result also served to exorcise the ghosts of 2022. Four years ago, a 2-0 playoff defeat to Poland ended Swedish World Cup dreams.

By reversing that result, Potter’s side has effectively closed one of the darkest chapters in modern Swedish football history. REUTERS

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