Sweden. The pre-tournament read.

Sweden arrive at the 2026 World Cup under a manager who has had roughly half a season to put a tournament team together. The two-forward partnership (Isak + Gyökeres) is what Tomasson was hired for and what Potter has inherited. Kulusevski's absence removes the connective midfielder both managers planned around; Bergvall is the next-in-line. Group F is genuinely competitive. The route to the round of 16 depends on Potter finding a midfield shape that lets the two forwards play together without leaving the press undermanned — the open question of this whole campaign.

Top three stars

Newcastle United · Centre-forward
Alexander Isak
Newcastle's forward and the player every Sweden tactical conversation has been routed through for years. The structural centre of Potter's attack.
Arsenal · Centre-forward
Viktor Gyökeres
Joined Arsenal from Sporting CP in 2025. The intended strike partner alongside Isak — and the second of Sweden's two genuine starting forwards in this generation.
Tottenham Hotspur · Central midfield
Lucas Bergvall
Young Spurs midfielder named in Potter's first major squad selection. Inherits the creative-midfield role Kulusevski was meant to carry into the tournament.

Qualifying scorer sketchAGENT-AUTHORED

Agent-authored figures · needs verification before match-use.

01 Goal totals pending stat-source verification · —0 g · —

Road to 2026

4 MAR 2024
Jon Dahl Tomasson appointed head coach
Danish, first non-Swedish manager in over thirty years. Replaced Janne Andersson after Euro 2024 missed.
14 OCT 2025
Tomasson sacked after 1-0 home defeat to Kosovo
First-ever managerial sacking by the Swedish FA. Sweden had taken one point from four matches in the qualifying campaign at that point.
20 OCT 2025
Graham Potter appointed head coach
Tasked with stabilising the qualifying campaign and building a tournament team in half a season.
1 MAR 2026
Qualified for the World Cup via the Nations League play-off route
Sweden finished bottom of their UEFA qualifying group but advanced through the Nations League play-off bracket — different path and different opponents from the Path B route the original pack claimed.
5 DEC 2025
Drawn into Group F with Netherlands, Japan, Tunisia
Netherlands the seeded test; Japan the experienced AFC side; Tunisia the African presence.

Did you knowGROUNDED

Sweden have appeared at twelve previous World Cups. Their best finishes are runners-up at Sweden 1958 (host, lost final to Brazil 5-2) and third place at Brazil 1950 and USA 1994.
Sweden's last World Cup was Russia 2018 — quarter-final exit (lost 2-0 to England in Samara). They failed to qualify for Qatar 2022.
Graham Potter is the second non-Swedish head coach of the men's senior team in over thirty years. Tomasson, his predecessor, was the first.
Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyökeres are the most-credentialed Swedish forward pairing since Henrik Larsson and Marcus Allbäck in the early 2000s.

Manager + squad

In charge since 1 OCT 2025

Graham Potter

Appointed 20 October 2025, six days after Sweden became the first national side ever sacked by the Swedish FA. English. Earlier head-coach stints at Brighton, Chelsea, and West Ham. The brief: stabilise a qualification that was collapsing under Tomasson, then build a tournament team in roughly half a season.

Squad status

Final 26 announced

Notable absences

Dejan Kulusevski
Tottenham Hotspur · Attacking midfield
Sidelined since May 2025 with a knee injury; two surgeries (most recent over the March 2026 international break) and no return to full training. Potter left him out of the final 26-man squad.

The rest of Group F

Netherlands
Japan
Tunisia

← All 12 groups