Sweden’s national football team represents Sweden in men’s international football and is governed by the Swedish Football Association, the governing body of football in Sweden. Sweden’s home ground is Friends Arena in Solna and the team is coached by Jane Anderson. Sweden Football History.
Sweden participated in the World Cup for the first time in 1934. Sweden’s other achievements include a gold medal at the 1948 Summer Olympics and bronze medals in 1924 and 1952. They even reached Sammy. UEFA Euro 1992 final, also hosted.
Early History
Sweden has traditionally been a strong team in international football, participating in 12 World Cups and winning 3 Olympic medals. The Swedish team finished second in the 1958 World Cup, when they were the hosts, losing 5-2 to Brazil in the final. Sweden also finished third twice in 1950 and 1994. Ranked fourth in 1938.
Sweden played its first international match on 12 July 1908 against Norway, winning 11-3. Sweden lost all five matches. That same year, Sweden participated in the 1908 Summer Olympics for the first time. Sweden, however, lost a game 1-12 against Great Britain in the Olympics, the biggest loss in the history of the Swedish national team.
Olympics
Sweden competed in the 1912 Olympics (as host), the 1920 Olympics, and the 1924 Olympics, where Sweden won a bronze and its first medal.
2018 FIFA World Cup
On July 25, 2015, Sweden drew in Group A of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. The team lost six wins, one draw, and three defeats. As a result, they drew with the Netherlands in points and finished second behind final world champions France by a goal difference.
On 13 November 2017, Sweden qualified for the 2018 World Cup after a 0-0 draw with Italy in San Cerro during the second leg of their qualifying play-off match. As Sweden won the first match 1-0, it resulted in Sweden winning overall, returning to the World Cup for the first time in 12 years.
Winning moments
In the 2018 World Cup, Sweden started their campaign with a 1-0 victory over South Korea in the first match on 18 June, thanks to a penalty goal by Andreas Grancost, which was decided by the new VAR technology. Their second match was against Germany on June 23. Ola Toivonen threw the ball over German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer in the first half to make it 1-0 for Sweden.
However, early in the second half, Marco Reus scored 1-1. With 15 seconds left in the five stoppage-time minutes, Tony Cruz won the game for Germany by scoring on a free-kick. Just outside the penalty area after a foul by Jimmy Dermaz. Despite the loss, Sweden topped the group’s knockout stage with a 3-0 win over Mexico. While Germany slipped to the bottom of the group with a 2-0 defeat to South Korea.
Sweden vs Switzerland
On July 3, 2018, Sweden defeated Switzerland in the Round of 16, beating Emil Forsberg 1-0, and advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time since 1994. In the quarterfinals, Sweden lost 2-. Beat England by 0 and thus knocked out.
Sweden, which advanced to League A, was drawn in Group A3 with defending champions Portugal, reigning world champions France and 2018 World Cup runner-up Croatia. They started their campaign on September 5, 2020, with a 1-0 defeat against France at the Friends Arena. Sweden’s next match was played three days later against Portugal in the same stadium. They lost 0-2 when Gustav Svensson was sent off just before halftime and Cristiano Ronaldo made a brace.
Sweden vs Croatia
On 11 October, Sweden sought a 1-1 draw against Croatia in Zagreb after a goal from Marks Berg. But a defensive error by Ponts Johnson at the end of the match gave Croatia a 2-1 victory. Three days later, they lost 0-3 to Portugal in Lisbon. Four consecutive defeats in competitive matches mean Sweden’s worst series of results in 108 years, going back to 1912.
On November 14, Sweden played a return game against Croatia at the Friends Arena and won 2-1 after goals from Dijon Klausewski and Marcus Danielson. But Danielson’s fatal goal at the end of the game would be detrimental. Three days later, Sweden played against France in Paris and took an early lead through Victor Klaassen.
However, France won the match 4-2. The second Swedish goal was score by Robin Kaizen. The result means Sweden finished last in the group with a narrower goal difference than Croatia and will advance to League B for the next UEFA Nations League tournament. Sweden Football History.
2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers
To qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Sweden was place in Group B along with Spain, Greece, Georgia, and Kosovo. On 16 March 2021, after retiring from the national team after Euro 2016. Zlatan Ibrahimovic was add to the squad for the first time in almost five years.
On March 25, 2021, Sweden defeated Georgia 1-0 after a goal at the Friends Arena. Victor Kleisen is assisting with Ibrahimovic. With his 117th appearance, Ibrahimovic officially became Sweden’s oldest player ever at the age of 39 years. Five months, and 22 days, surpassing Thomas Ravelli’s record on October 11, 1997. On 28 March, Sweden beat Kosovo 3-0 in Pristina, Ibrahimović set up Ludwig Augustinsson for the first goal and Alexander Isaac for the second. Day captain Sebastian Larson then scored from the penalty spot.
Sweden vs Spain
On September 2, Sweden played Spain in Solana. Carlos Solar scored for Spain just 3 minutes later, but Alexander Isaac scored 11 seconds after the next kick-off. Early in the second half, Dejan Klausewski set up Victor Klaassen to make it 2-1. It was the first time since 1993 that Spain had lost in a World Cup qualifier. On September 8, Sweden lost 1-2 to Greece in Athens, with substitute Robin Koisen scoring the only Swedish goal.
On October 9, Sweden played Kosovo in the Friends Arena. In the second half, Alexander Isaac scored on a brilliant long shot in the top corner. Robin Quissen then went on to win 3-0 on his 28th birthday. Three days later, Sweden hosted Greece in the same stadium. Sweden Football History.
Greece’s poor team looked better in the first half and hit the woodwork twice, Sweden stepped up in the second half. Emil Forsberg scored from the penalty spot after Alexander Isaac had been a drop from the box. Then, after a long goal kick by Robin Olson, Esk scored himself 2-0. The win meant that Sweden was top of the group, two points ahead of Spain with two matches left.
Sweden vs Georgia
On November 11, Sweden suffered a shock 2-0 defeat against Georgia. Georgia, currently ranked 93rd in the world, is the lowest-ranked team to beat Sweden. On November 14, Sweden played a return match against Spain in Seoul. Despite creating excellent scoring opportunities. Sweden lost the match 1-0 after Alvaro Morata scored on a rebound in the 86th minute. This meant that Sweden finished second in the group. Sweden Football History.
On March 24, Sweden played in the play-off semi-final against the Czech Republic in Solna. After 90 minutes the game was goalless and went into extra time where Robin Quissen scored the winning goal. On March 29, Sweden lost 2-0 to Poland at the Stadion Śląski thanks to goals from Robert Lewandowski and Piotr Zieliński and thus failed to qualify for the World Cup. For more details click here