This time last year, Sweden seemed to be on the rise again. A side that had failed to qualify for both the 2022 World Cup and Euro 2024 was flying under Jon Dahl Tomasson, with Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres scoring freely in a refreshingly attack-minded line-up. However, the country's first-ever foreign manager has since become the first coach in Sweden's history to be relieved of his duties before the expiration of his contract.
The nation's football federation (SvFF) felt they had no option but to act, though, as the atmosphere around – and allegedly within – Dahl Tomasson's team had turned toxic, resulting in the "Danish bast*rd" being dismissed before the 2026 World Cup qualification campaign had even concluded.
Intriguingly, Sweden have now turned to another foreign coach to resurrect their hopes of securing a spot at next summer's tournament in North America, with Englishman Graham Potter taking over less than a month after being fired by West Ham.
So, where did it all go wrong for Dahl Tomasson? And is Potter really the right man to get the best out of a side blessed with a forward line worth £235 million ($310m) that is presently struggling to score goals and suffering from a collective crisis of confidence?
AFPChange of direction
It felt like the Swedish national team had hit rock bottom after missing out on Euro 2024. Not since 1996 had they failed to reach the finals – but, on this occasion, they hadn't even gone close. Sweden won just three of their qualifying games and finished nine points adrift of second-placed Austria, and 10 behind group winners Belgium.
Given Sweden had also been eliminated in the play-offs for Qatar 2022 by Poland, the SvFF unsurprisingly felt it was time to bring an end to Janne Andersson's seven-year spell as coach. They also brought in Kim Kallstrom as their new director of football and the retired midfielder, who made 131 appearances for Sweden (and four for Arsenal!), was immediately charged with finding a worthy successor to Andersson.
"That is the No.1 priority," Kallstrom said on December 6, 2023. "But I think we need to take our time. We need to analyse a little bit where we are, why we are there, where we want to go, how we can get there, and who the people are who are going to implement all that."
Kallstrom ultimately decided that the man to turn the national team around was Dahl Tomasson, the ex-Denmark forward who had just parted company with Blackburn Rovers by 'mutual consent' after a run of eight Championship games without a win.
AdvertisementGetty Images Sport'New style and a new team'
Tomasson lost three of his first four games in charge – including a 2-1 defeat in his native Denmark – but they were all friendlies. When the competitive action began in September 2024, Sweden suddenly caught fire – and Tomasson's daring decision to move away from the national team's tried-and-trusted 4-4-2 appeared to be the main reason why.
There were plenty of pundits who argued that Isak and Gyokeres couldn't play together; that they were too similar. However, the pair contributed a combined 12 goals in the four Nations League games they played alongside one another at the apex of Tomasson's bold 3-4-1-2 formation.
"Some observers have called it a revolution but, first and foremost, I see my goal as a reversal of bad results by building a new style and a new team," the former Malmo coach told . Tomasson acknowledged, though, that not everyone was convinced by his adventurous approach, primarily due to the standard of Sweden's opponents in their Nations League C group (Slovakia, Estonia and Azerbaijan).
"I find that there are still people who are sceptical about whether we can play so offensively against better nations," he said, "but while we play offensively, we do not do so naively."
However, when Tomasson's tactics were truly tested for the first time in World Cup qualifying, the results were dire.
AFPFrom bad to worse
Even though Isak wasn't match fit for Sweden's opening qualifier against Slovenia on September 5 due to his professionally successful but physically detrimental summer strike, the Scandinavians should have kicked off their campaign with a win in Ljubljana. However, despite twice taking the lead – first through Anthony Elanga and then Yasin Ayari – they threw away two points in the final minute of normal time because of a goalkeeping error from Robin Olsen.
Even worse was to follow three days later, with the Swedes slumping to a disastrous 2-0 defeat in Kosovo. By that stage, faith in the manager was already wavering. There were still four matchdays remaining, but the feeling in the media was that their hopes of automatic qualification were already over after losing to a team ranked 95th in the world at the time.
Former winger Freddie Ljungberg called the performance against Kosovo "appalling", labelled it "a betrayal", while argued, "The uphill struggle is so steep now that it's impossible to see how a Swedish national team under Jon Dahl Tomasson will be able to regain the confidence they have failed to instil over the past year and a half."
Unfortunately for the under-fire coach, the increasingly sceptical Swedish press would be proven correct.
AFP'Slap in the face'
To have any real chance of pipping Switzerland to top spot in UEFA Group B, Sweden simply had to beat Murat Yakin's men in Solna on October 10. However, despite being able to once again pair a fully-fit Isak with Gyokeres from the first minute while Elanga made do with a place on the bench, the hosts failed to register a single shot on target in an embarrassingly meek 2-0 loss.
Unsurprisingly, Tomasson's toothless team were booed from the field, as the infamous 'JDT Out, Danish bast*rd' banner was unfurled in the stands. "That was terrible," defender Emil Holm told . "There should be no such thing. I understand that people are disappointed, but I find writing things like that to be the lowest of the low."
As for Tomasson, he reacted with admirable diplomacy to his nationality being brought into the argument in such classless fashion, while at the same time trying desperately to talk up Sweden's hopes of keeping their World Cup dream alive.
"I understand the fans, they want results and wins," he told reporters. "Football is emotion. The fans are worried – we have to deal with that, because that result was a slap in the face. But we haven't been eliminated yet. I believe that we can make it to the World Cup with this team."
However, the following Monday, Sweden would be once again beaten by Kosovo, this time losing 1-0 in Gothenburg, meaning even a second-place finish was now beyond them. Sweden were clearly "completely broken", as retired defender Jonas Olsson put it on , and the FA promptly turned to Potter to fix the national team.