Sweden national football team

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Sweden
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s) Blågult (The Blue-Yellow)
Association Svenska Fotbollförbundet
Confederation UEFA (Europe)
Head coach Erik Hamrén
Asst coach Marcus Allbäck
Captain Zlatan Ibrahimović
Most caps Thomas Ravelli (143)
Top scorer Sven Rydell (49)
Home stadium Råsunda Stadium
FIFA code SWE
FIFA ranking 18
Highest FIFA ranking 2 (November 1994)
Lowest FIFA ranking 43 (February 2010)
Elo ranking 13
Highest Elo ranking 2 (June 1950)
Lowest Elo ranking 49 (September 1980)
Home colours
Away colours
First international
Sweden Sweden 11–3 Norway 
(Gothenburg, Sweden; 12 July 1908)
Biggest win
Sweden Sweden 12–0 Latvia 
(Stockholm, Sweden; 29 May 1927)
Sweden Sweden 12–0 South Korea 
(London, England; August 5, 1948)
Biggest defeat
United Kingdom Great Britain 12–1 Sweden Sweden
(London, England; 20 October 1908)
World Cup
Appearances 11 (First in 1934)
Best result Runners-up, 1958
European Championship
Appearances 4 (First in 1992)
Best result Semi-finals, 1992
Olympic medal record
Men's Football
Gold 1948 London Team
Bronze 1924 Paris Team
Bronze 1952 Helsinki Team

The Swedish national football team (Swedish: Svenska fotbollslandslaget) represents Sweden in association football and is controlled by the Swedish Football Association, the governing body for Football in Sweden. Sweden's home ground is Råsunda Stadium in Stockholms län and the team is lead by Erik Hamrén. Sweden made their first World Cup appearance in 1934. Since then, Sweden has made eleven World Cup appearances and four appearances in the European Championships. They finished second in the 1958 World Cup, and third in both 1950 and 1994. Sweden's accomplishments also include a gold medal in the 1948 Summer Olympics, and bronze medals in 1924 and 1952. They reached the semi-finals in UEFA Euro 1992.

Traditionally, Sweden are rivals with Denmark and Norway, although other rivalries have developed over the years. Sweden failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in the group qualification stage, having been edged out by Portugal. As a result, team manager Lars Lagerbäck quit and Erik Hamrén was appointed the new manager. Sweden's current captain is Zlatan Ibrahimović with Anders Svensson as vice captain.

Contents

[edit] History

Sweden has traditionally been a strong team in international football, with eleven World Cup appearances and three medals in the Olympics. The Swedish team finished second in the 1958 World Cup, when it was the host team, being beaten by Brazil 5–2 in the final. Sweden has also finished third twice, in 1950 and 1994. In 1938, they finished fourth.

[edit] Early history

Sweden played its first international game against Norway, on 12 July 1908, and won it 11–3. Other games in 1908 were against England, Great Britain, Netherlands (twice) and Belgium. Sweden lost all five games.

In the same year Sweden competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics for the first time. Sweden however lost a game in the Olympics against the Great Britain with 1–12 and it became the biggest loss in the Swedish national team's history.

From 1910 to 1930 Sweden exclusively played friendly games; in 1916 Sweden beat Denmark for the first time.

Sweden played in the 1912 Olympics (as hosts), the 1920 Olympics, and in the 1924 Olympics, where Sweden took the bronze and their first medal ever.

[edit] 1938 World Cup

The 1938 World Cup was Sweden's second qualification for the world cup. In the first round, they were scheduled to play against Austria, but after the Germans occupied the nation of Austria could not continue playing in the tournament. Instead, Sweden went straight to the quarterfinal match against Cuba. They beat Cuba 8–0 with both harry Andersson (on his debut) and Gustav Wetterström scoring hat tricks. In the semi-final match against Hungary, Sweden lost 1–5. Sweden's next match was the 3rd place match against Brazil. In that game the Swedes lost 2–4, and ended in 4th place for the first and only time in Swedish football history.

[edit] 1948 Summer Olympics

In the first round Sweden played against Austria. The Austrian team had qualified without their professional players, which was a surprise since the Austrian league had many professional players who were allowed to play in the tournament. The match was played at White Hart Lane in London and Sweden won 3–0. In the second game, Sweden played against Korea and won 12–0, one of the two largest margin wins Sweden has ever had. In the semi-final Sweden met their archrivals from Denmark beating them 4–2.

The final was played at legendary Wembley Stadium in London. The attendance was around 40,000 people which was high for a football game in those days. Sweden took on Yugoslavia in the final and won 3–1, with goals by Gunnar Gren (24', 67'), Stjepan Bobek (42') and Gunnar Nordahl (48'). This was Sweden's first championship win in any international football tournament.

[edit] 1950 World Cup

In the 1950 World Cup, the Swedish football association did not allow any professional Swedish football players to take part. Sweden consequently only fielded amateur players during the tournament.

Qualifying for the tournament as one of six European national teams, Sweden played in the same group as Italy and Paraguay. (India withdrew from the group.)

In the first game, Sweden beat the Italians, 3–2, in São Paulo. The second game was a 2–2 draw against Paraguay. With the most points in the group, Sweden advanced to the next round.

Their first game in the second stage, also a group format, was against the host nation, Brazil. It was played at the Maracanã with a total attendance of more than 138,000, to this day the record attendance for the Swedish national team. The game ended 7–1 to Brazil and it is rumored that almost everyone in the Brazilian audience waved the Swedes good bye with their scarfs.

The next game was against Uruguay, who Sweden played against for the first time in World Cup history. Played in São Paulo, Uruguay won the game 3–2, which meant Sweden were unable to play for the gold.

The final game for Sweden in the tournament was played in São Paulo, against Spain. Sweden won 3–1 with goals by Stig Sundqvist (15'), Bror Mellberg (34') and Karl-Erik Palmér (79'). Sweden finished 3rd in the group and took their first World Cup medal.

[edit] 1958 World Cup

Sweden won the silver medal at the 1958 World Cup.

In 1956 the Swedish football federation allowed the professional footballers to play for the national team again, giving Swedish football fans hope for the 1958 FIFA World Cup. Sweden, the host nation, were in the same group as Mexico, Hungary and Wales.

The first game, Sweden vs Mexico, was played at Sweden's national stadium, Råsunda Stadium, Solna, and was attended by around 32,000 people. Sweden won the game 3–0, taking the lead in Group 3. The next match was against Hungary, who had finished 2nd in the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland and were also the 1952 Olympic Champions. Also played at Råsunda, this game ended 2–1 to Sweden, with both goals scored by Kurt Hamrin. In the next match, against Wales, Sweden drew 0–0.

Making it through to the quarter-final, playing at Råsunda for the fourth time in this tournament, Sweden were up against the USSR and won 2–0.

The semifinal at Ullevi, Gothenburg, was the only game in the tournament which Sweden did not play at Råsunda. The crowd of around 50,000 people attended one of the best games Sweden played in the tournament. West Germany led by 1–0 when Erich Juskowiak was sent off in the 59th minute. Sweden won 3–1.

The final was played at Råsunda between host nation Sweden and the 1950 FIFA World Cup runners-up, Brazil. The total attendance was approximately 52,000 people. Brazil ended up winning the World Cup for the first time ever after beating Sweden by 5–2. Sweden consequently became runners-up, the best result for Sweden in any World Cup. After the final match the Brazilian players honoured the host nation by sprinting around the pitch holding a Swedish flag.

[edit] 1960s

After the successful 1958 World Cup, Sweden's fortunes diminished. In the qualification round of the 1962 World Cup, Sweden won its group in impressive fashion (scoring 10 goals and only having 3 goals scored against it), but it still had to win a play-off game against Switzerland to qualify. The game was played in West Berlin, and the Swiss won, 2–1.

Sweden almost got to the UEFA European Championship 1964. They started their play-off against Norway and won the first game and drew in the last game. In the second round, Sweden beat Yugoslavia, 3–2, but they lost the first game. In the quarterfinal, Sweden played against the defending champions, the Soviet Union. Sweden tied the first game but lost the second.

During the 1966 World Cup qualification, Sweden was in the UEFA Qualification group 2. Sweden started the qualification with a draw against West Germany and then a 3–0 victory over Cyprus. But only the winner of the group advanced and Sweden was eliminated with a loss in its next game against West Germany.

Sweden successfully entered the UEFA European Championship in 1968, but they finished in the Qualification group 2.

Sweden's only major success in the '60s was to qualify for the 1970 World Cup, after winning UEFA Group 5 ahead of Norway and France. Sweden finished third in its group, losing a tie-breaker with eventual #4 Uruguay, and did not advance to the elimination round, however. The winner of Sweden's group was eventual world runner-up Italy.

[edit] 1974 World Cup

In the qualification of the 1974 FIFA World Cup, Sweden was in the same group as Austria, Hungary, and Malta. Sweden clinched a narrow win via a classic play off-match against Austria in a snowy Gelsenkirchen, and advanced to the World Cup finals in Germany.

The group Sweden drew into included Uruguay, the Netherlands, and Bulgaria. The first game against Bulgaria ended in a draw. In the second game against the Netherlands, Sweden drew another tie. The last game of the round was played against Uruguay. That game was the first victory Sweden had in the tournament, when they beat Uruguay 3–0 with goals by Roland Sandberg (74') and Ralf Edström (46', 77'). Sweden finished 2nd in the group and advanced to the second group stage.

In the second group stage, Sweden was defeated in the first game against Poland 0–1. The situation after the defeat against Poland was that if Sweden lost against West Germany with a single goal difference and Yugoslavia defeated Poland, Sweden would be second in the group and play for the bronze medal. But since Poland beat Yugoslavia 2–1, Sweden had to win the game against the host nation, West Germany, in order to finish second in the group.

The game against West Germany was played in Düsseldorf with an attendance of 66,500 people. The Swedish striker Ralf Edström gave the Scandinavian the lead with 1–0 after 29 minutes. But in the second half West Germany took control of the game, even after Roland Sandberg's equalizer after 52 minutes. Germany won 4–2. After the tournament, the German players commented that the game against Sweden was their best game in that tournament. The last game for Sweden was played in Düsseldorf against Yugoslavia. Sweden won that game 2–1. They finished the tournament as the 5th place team.

[edit] 1979–1990

After the successful 70's, reaching all three World Cups. Sweden changed their coach from Georg "Åby" Ericson to Lars "Laban" Arnesson. Arnesson had been a successful coach for Östers IF before becoming national coach. After the failed qualification for the '86 World Cup, Olle Nordin took over the team. Sweden failed to qualify for every World Cup and European Championship during the 1980s, but won their qualification group for the 1990 World Cup ahead of England and went on to their first World Cup in 12 years. However, the World Cup campaign ended quickly after three 1–2 defeats in the group stage matches, against Brazil, Scotland and Costa Rica.

[edit] 1992 European Championship

As the host of the 1992 European Championship, Sweden played in their first European Championship tournament. They were drawn in the group with Denmark, France, and England. Sweden managed to advance as group winners ahead of the eventual champions Denmark. In the semi-finals following the group stage Sweden were eliminated by Germany 2–3. The place in the semi-final is Sweden's best result in a European Championship to date.

[edit] 1994 World Cup

Sweden qualified for the World Cup at the top of their qualifying group ahead of Bulgaria. Sweden was placed in Group B with Brazil, Cameroon, and Russia. The first game against Cameroon looked to be yet another 1–2 loss, (after the 1990 World Cup fiasco with losses of 1–2 in all three games), but in the 75th minute Martin Dahlin scored the equalizer from a rebound shot off of Henrik Larsson and the match finished 2–2. In the next game against Russia, Russia was handed an early penalty and made it 1–0. Sweden managed to come back, with a penalty goal from Tomas Brolin and two goals from Martin Dahlin the final result was written 1–3. In the last group stage match against Brazil, they tied 1–1 after goals by Kennet Andersson ('23) and Romário ('47).

In the first knockout stage match, Sweden faced Saudi Arabia and won 3–1 after two goals from Kennet Andersson and one from Martin Dahlin. The quarter-final match against Romania has become a memorable match for Swedish football fans. After Sweden had scored late in the second half, Romania managed to equalize in the dying minutes of the match, sending it into extra time. Romania's Florin Raducioiu who scored the first goal for Romania, scored his second of the day to take Romania ahead at the 101st minute. But with five minutes left Kennet Andersson scored with a header to make it level at 2–2. The penalty shoot-out began with a miss from Håkan Mild of Sweden, but Thomas Ravelli managed to save two penalties from Dan Petrescu and Miodrag Belodedici giving Sweden the win and making himself a hero. Sweden went through to face Brazil in the semi-finals. They had managed to score in the group stage against Brazil but couldn't do it a second time. After Jonas Thern had been sent off with a red card Romário scored the only goal of the game in the 80th minute.

In the third place match Sweden played against Bulgaria who had lost to Italy in their semi-final match. Sweden scored 4 goals in the first half, but the second half went goal-less. Sweden won the bronze medal, the best placing for the national team in a World Cup play-off since the 1958 silver medal. This led Sweden to the second place of the FIFA World Rankings for one month, in November 1994.

They finished as the top scorers of the tournament, with 15 goals.

[edit] 2000 European Championships

Sweden qualified impressively for this tournament, winning all games except the away game against England (0–0) and conceding only one goal. The finals however, were a great disappointment. Sweden lost their opening game against the host Belgium 1–2. Johan Mjällby scored the goal for Sweden in the 53rd minute after a mess-up by the Belgian goalkeeper Filip De Wilde while Belgium won via goals from Bart Goor in the 43rd minute and Emile Mpenza in the 46th one. Then Sweden played 0–0 against Turkey and lost 2–1 to Italy. The goal was scored by Henrik Larsson while Italy won via goals from Luigi Di Biagio and Alessandro Del Piero. Sweden finished the group last behind Belgium with only 1 point. Italy finished first and Turkey second.

[edit] 2002 World Cup

Sweden was part of the Group of Death, Group F also including big favourites Argentina, England and Nigeria. The first match was against England. Sol Campbell gave England the lead in the first half by heading in a left side corner from David Beckham. In the second half, Sweden took over completely and dominated the game, creating numerous chances. The equalizing goal was scored by midfielder Niclas Alexandersson, a powerful left-foot shot from outside the box past David Seaman. This gave the result 1–1. In the next game, Sweden played Nigeria. Julius Aghahowa gave Nigeria the lead by heading in a cross from the right. But Sweden managed to equalize with a fine goal by Henrik Larsson. Later in the game, Larsson was fouled in the penalty area and Sweden were awarded with a penalty which Larsson himself put in the goal. Sweden won 2–1.

In the final group match, Sweden played Argentina, who needed to win after losing 0–1 to England in the previous game. However, midfielder Anders Svensson scored a great freekick goal from 30 meters. Andreas Andersson then had a shot off the crossbar and out. Mattias Jonson committed a foul in the penalty area and Argentina got a penalty. Ariel Ortega shot straight on Magnus Hedman, the Swedish keeper, but Hernán Crespo rushed into the box and shot the rebound from Hedman between the keepers legs. This was a controversial goal because Crespo began running into the box at the same time as Ortega stepped up to shot. However, the match ended 1–1 and Sweden won the group, England on second place, Argentina third and Nigeria last.

In the round of 16, Sweden played Senegal. Henrik Larsson gave Sweden an early lead by heading in a corner from Anders Svensson. But Senegal equalized through Henri Camara. Senegal also had a goal disallowed for offside. The game came to sudden death golden goal. Rising star Zlatan Ibrahimović came on and nearly won Sweden the game. He made a terrific run on the right wing past several Senegal players, and shot with his weaker left foot from a tight angle straight at Senegals keeper Tony Sylva. Ibrahimović had Larsson and Svensson in excellent positions for a pass, but shot instead. Then Anders Svensson made a great spin past a defender and hit the post with a powerful shot. Sylva had no chance of saving that strike. Henri Camara then took a weak shot which went past Hedman, off the post and went into the goal. Consequently, Sweden were eliminated.

Swedish national team of 2006.

[edit] UEFA Euro 2004

Sweden came into the tournament in Portugal with low expectations. But after a dazzling 5–0 win against Bulgaria they became one of the favorites. Fredrik Ljungberg began the goal-fest after a well done pass by Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Henrik Larsson scored 2–0 and 3–0 in the second half. His first goal was done by a nice header after that he received a perfectly taken crossball by Erik Edman. 4–0 was scored by Zlatan Ibrahimovic on a penalty and the substitute Marcus Allbäck scored the last goal of the game. After the 6–0 victory, Sweden became a feared team in the tournament and many were surprised by Sweden's offensive play since they were known to mostly play a defensive form of football.

In the next game they were set up against Italy, who would prove themselves as a very hard opponent. After 36 minutes Antonio Cassano scored the first goal of the game for Italy after a cross by Christian Panucci. A great game by Swedish goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson made Sweden survive the rest of the game and after 84 minutes Sweden finally managed to score a goal. Zlatan Ibrahimovic made an amazing backheel shot which found the back of the net.

Sweden's last game of the group was held against Denmark. It was said before the game that if Sweden and Denmark played 2–2, Italy would be eliminated from the tournament. This is exactly what happened. Denmark led the game by 2–1 a long time. But at the end of the game, Mattias Jonson scored the equalizer after a dozen of rebounds. Italy was eliminated and both Denmark and Sweden was qualified for the quarter-finals.

In the quarter-finals, Sweden had to face Holland. The game became goalless after full time, but not without a lot of chances. The closest Sweden came to scoring was through Fredrik Ljungberg but he hit the post with a well taken shot. But the game was ended goalless in normal time and went to a penalty shootout. After a long run of penalties were taken, it was Olof Mellberg's turn to take a shot. The Dutch goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar saved Mellberg's shot and Holland won the game. Sweden was eliminated and Holland was through to the next round.

[edit] 2006 World Cup

Sweden competed in Group B at the 2006 World Cup. Their squad for the tournament features players who play club football in eleven different nations. Sweden started the World Cup slowly, recording a scoreless tie against unheralded Trinidad and Tobago, despite playing with a one-man advantage for most of the game. The second game, against Paraguay, looked to be another goal-less draw until Fredrik Ljungberg scored in the 89th minute to give Sweden a 1–0 victory. Sweden then rallied to tie England, 2–2, to finish group play with five points – enough to finish second in its group and advance to the second round. There, the team's World Cup run came to an end with a 2–0 defeat to the host team, Germany.

[edit] 2008 European Championship and 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers

Sweden finished second in Group F behind Spain, thus qualifying for the finals. The campaign included an abandoned match away to Denmark, for which Sweden were awarded a 3–0 win by UEFA.

In their first match in Euro 2008, they beat the reigning European champions, Greece, by a score of 2–0 with goals from Zlatan Ibrahimović and Petter Hansson. Their next game was against Spain, who they played in qualifying. The game looked like a draw until a 92nd minute strike from David Villa, which put the Spaniards ahead. In the final group match, the Swedes went on to lose 2–0 to the Russians, eliminating them from the tournament.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification ended disastrously for Sweden. In the first game in Tirana, they were only able to tie 0–0 with an Albanian side that they were expected to defeat easily. Four days later, Sweden beat Hungary, 2–1, with goals from Kim Källström and Samuel Holmén. They would go on to tie with Portugal twice, both in Stockholm and in Porto. Both games ended 0–0. Sweden would lose to Denmark on home ground with a early strike from Thomas Kahlenberg after a defensive mistake. Sweden had defeated Denmark, 3–0, 2 years earlier. Sweden recovered with a 4–0 hammering of Malta. Against Hungary and Malta, both of the winning goals for Sweden were scored late. They would lose to Denmark again at Parken Stadium in Copenhagen after a late goal from Jakob Poulsen. Meanwhile, Portugal defeated Hungary, 3–0, putting the Portuguese team ahead in the standings. Sweden would hammer Albania, 4–1; however, Sweden was eliminated by Portugal's 4–0 defeat of Malta. Lars Lagerbäck resigned and Erik Hamrén was appointed the next head coach.

[edit] Euro 2012 qualifiers

Sweden's Euro 2012 campaign with their new coach, Erik Hamrén, started well with two consecutive wins in Group E against Hungary and San Marino. After that Sweden lost to the Netherlands in Amsterdam with 1–4, but then won against Moldova first in Stockholm with 2–1 and later in Chişinău with 4–1. After the battle against Moldova Sweden beat their neighbor Finland with 5–0. The following game was a defeat when Hungary through Rudolf scored 2-1 home at Stadium Puskás Ferenc at the last minute of full time. After that Sweden defeated San Marino with 5-0 away including two goals from Christian Wilhelmsson, who before the two games against San Marino and Hungary hadn't been a regular in the starting eleven during Hamréns stall as head coach. The Swedish team then proceeded to beat Finland with 2-1 and in the final game beat the Netherlands with 3-2 to end their streak of 17 consecutive qualification-game wins. On 02 December 2011, Sweden were drawn into Group D alongside England, Ukraine, and France in the Euro 2012 competition.[1][2]

[edit] Supporters

Swedish supporters showed up first during the 1912 Summer Olympics, where they chanted "Heja Sverige Friskt humör, det är det som susen gör" (roughly meaning "Go Sweden, being in good spirits is what does the trick!") during the football games. The traveling supporters for Sweden's away games showed up for the first time in the 1974 FIFA World Cup in West Germany, and since then Sweden has always had supporters in large tournaments. In the 2006 FIFA World Cup Sweden had one of the largest group of supporters during a tournament, especially during the group stage match against Paraguay with around 50,000 Swedish supporters in attendance, plus an additional 50,000 fans watching the game outside the stadium. The Swedish fans were also voted the best fans during the 2006 World Cup, due to their massive numbers, friendly attitude and love for the game.

[edit] Stadium

The Swedish national stadium is called the Råsunda Fotbollsstadion, but it will be replaced in 2012 by the new national stadium Swedbank Arena. According to FIFA, Råsunda Stadion is a classic stadium, one of only two stadiums in the world, the other one being the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California, USA, which hosted both the men's and women's World Cup final (1958 FIFA World Cup final and the 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup). Råsunda stadium was opened 18 September 1910, and had a capacity of only 2.000, mostly standing. It was Råsunda stadium and Valhalla stadium in Gothenburg that were the first football fields with grass used for Swedish football. The stadium was expanded during 1937, to a capacity of 40000 people. The stadium was used for the football tournament in the 1912 Summer Olympics held in Stockholm, and hosted 8 games during the FIFA World Cup 1958. In the UEFA European Championship in 1992, the stadium hosted 4 games and in the 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup it hosted only the final game. But Råsunda stadium is still the only stadium in Scandinavia that has hosted 4 big tournaments. Ullevi in Gothenburg is used for some games which Sweden plays, such as the 100 years celebration game of the Swedish football association, against England in 2004. Even other stadiums, such as Malmö stadion in Malmö, are used for the national team.

[edit] Competitive record

[edit] FIFA World Cup Record

Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA
Uruguay 1930 Did not enter
Italy 1934 Quarter Final 8 2 1 0 1 4 4
France 1938 Fourth place 4 3 1 0 2 11 9
Brazil 1950 Third place 3 5 2 1 2 11 15
Switzerland 1954 Did not qualify
Sweden 1958 Runners-up 2 6 4 1 1 12 7
Chile 1962 Did not qualify
England 1966
Mexico 1970 Group Stage 9 3 1 1 1 2 2
West Germany 1974 Group Stage 2 5 6 2 2 2 7 6
Argentina 1978 Group Stage 1 13 3 0 1 2 1 3
Spain 1982 Did not qualify
Mexico 1986
Italy 1990 Group Stage 21 3 0 0 3 3 6
United States 1994 Third place 3 7 3 3 1 15 8
France 1998 Did not qualify
South KoreaJapan 2002 Round of 16 13 4 1 2 1 5 5
Germany 2006 Round of 16 14 4 1 2 1 3 4
South Africa 2010 Did not qualify
Total 11/19 46 16 13 17 74 69

[edit] UEFA European Championship Record

Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA
France 1960 Did not enter
Spain 1964 Did not qualify
Italy 1968
Belgium 1972
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 1976
Italy 1980
France 1984
West Germany 1988
Sweden 1992 Semi Final 4 4 2 1 1 6 5
England 1996 Did not qualify
BelgiumNetherlands 2000 Group Stage 14 3 0 1 2 2 4
Portugal 2004 Quarter Final 7 4 1 3 0 8 3
AustriaSwitzerland 2008 Group Stage 9 3 1 0 2 3 4
PolandUkraine 2012 Qualified 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 5/16 14 4 5 5 19 16

[edit] Olympic Games

Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA
United Kingdom 1908 Fourth place 4 2 0 0 2 1 14
Sweden 1912 Round of 16 9 2 0 0 2 3 5
Belgium 1920 Quarter Finals 6 3 1 0 2 14 7
France 1924 Third place 3 5 3 1 1 18 5
Netherlands 1928 Did not enter
Germany 1936 Round of 16 9 1 0 0 1 2 3
United Kingdom 1948 Champions 1 4 4 0 0 22 3
Finland 1952 Third place 3 4 3 0 1 9 8
Australia 1956 Did not enter
Italy 1960
Japan 1964 Did not qualify
Mexico 1968 Did not enter
West Germany 1972
Canada 1976
Soviet Union 1980
United States 1984
South Korea 1988[3] Quarter Finals 6 4 2 1 1 7 5
Total 8/17 25 13 2 10 76 50

After the 1988 Olympics, the football event was changed into a tournament for U23 or U21 teams with a maximum of three older players.

[edit] Nordic Football Championship

Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA
1924–28 Runners-up 2 10 6 1 3 31 19
1929–32 Runners-up 2 12 6 1 5 35 31
1933–36 Champions 1 12 7 2 3 31 22
1937–47 Champions 1 12 9 0 3 41 16
1948–51 Champions 1 12 7 2 3 36 22
1952–55 Champions 1 12 8 4 0 44 14
1956–59 Champions 1 12 9 2 1 45 17
1960–63 Champions 1 12 7 3 2 24 10
1964–67 Champions 1 12 5 4 3 22 14
1968–71 Champions 1 12 10 2 0 32 10
1972–77 Champions 1 12 8 2 2 24 9
1978–80 Runners-up 2 6 3 0 3 7 6
1981–83 Runners-up 2 5 2 1 2 6 4
2000–01 Fifth place 5 5 1 2 2 3 4
Total 14/14 146 88 26 32 381 198

[edit] Minor tournaments

Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA
Denmark 1939 DBU 50 years Semi Finals 3 1 0 0 1 0 1
FinlandSweden 1947 FBF 40 years Winners 1 2 2 0 0 11 2
Norway 1952 NFF 50 years Runners-up 2 2 1 0 1 3 3
Sweden 1954 SFF 50 years Winners 1 2 2 0 0 9 0
Finland 1957 FBF 50 years Winners 1 2 1 1 0 5 1
Spain 1988 Maspalomas Winners 1 2 2 0 0 5 1
West Germany 1988 West Berlin Tourn. Winners 1 2 1 1 0 3 1
Denmark 1989 DBU 100 years Runners-up 2 2 1 0 1 2 7
Sweden 1991 Scania 100 Third place 3 2 1 0 1 6 3
United States 1994 Joe Robbie Cup Winners 1 2 1 1 0 3 1
NorwayDenmarkSweden 1994 Nordic Cup Winners 1 2 1 0 1 2 1
England 1995 Umbro Cup Third place 3 3 0 2 1 5 6
Hong Kong 1996 Carlsberg Cup Winners 1 2 1 1 0 2 1
Thailand 1997 King's Cup Winners 1 4 3 1 0 6 1
Thailand 2001 King's Cup Winners 1 4 2 2 0 9 3
Thailand 2003 King's Cup Winners 1 4 3 1 0 12 4
Hong Kong 2004 Carlsberg Cup Third place 3 2 1 0 1 3 3
Thailand 2010 King's Cup Withdrew
Cyprus 2011 Cyprus Cup Runners-up 2 2 1 1 0 3 1
Total 42 24 11 7 89 40
*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
**Gold background color indicates that the tournament was won. Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

[edit] Titles

[edit] Major titles

  • Semi-finals (1): 1992

[edit] Minor titles

  • Winners (1): 1947
  • Winners (1): 1954
  • Winners (1): 1957
  • Winners (1): 1988
  • Winners (1): 1988
  • Winners (1): 1994
  • Winners (1): 1994
  • Winners (1): 1996
  • Winners (3): 1996, 2001, 2003

[edit] All-time team record

The following table shows Sweden's all-time international record, correct as of 18 January 2012.[4]

Against Played Won Drawn* Lost GF GA GD
 Albania 5 3 1 1 10 5 +5
 Algeria 4 3 1 0 9 1 +8
 Argentina 2 1 1 0 4 3 +1
 Australia 5 1 2 2 2 2 0
 Austria 32 12 5 15 50 47 +3
 Azerbaijan 2 2 0 0 4 0 +4
 Bahrain 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2
 Barbados 1 1 0 0 4 0 +4
 Belarus 3 3 0 0 8 2 +6
 Belgium 13 5 2 6 30 20 +10
 Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 1 0 0 4 2 +2
 Botswana 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1
 Brazil 14 2 3 9 17 32 −15
 Bulgaria 14 10 2 2 26 8 +18
 Cameroon 1 0 1 0 2 2 0
 Chile 1 0 1 0 1 1 0
 China PR 2 1 1 0 5 2 +3
 Colombia 2 0 2 0 2 2 0
 Costa Rica 2 1 0 1 2 2 0
 Croatia 3 0 0 3 1 4 −3
 Cuba 1 1 0 0 8 0 +8
 Cyprus 6 5 1 0 19 3 +16
 Czech Republic 2 1 1 0 5 4 +1
 Czechoslovakia 16 3 4 9 21 36 −15
 Côte d'Ivoire 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1
 Denmark 102 45 19 38 183 169 +14
 East Germany 6 2 1 3 8 9 −1
 Ecuador 2 0 1 1 2 3 −1
 Egypt 4 2 0 2 10 3 +7
 England 24 6 9 9 28 59 −31
 Estonia 14 13 1 0 50 15 +35
 Faroe Islands 1 0 1 0 0 0 0
 Finland 85 65 11 9 289 94 +195
 France 17 4 5 8 16 25 −9
 Germany 22 9 4 9 37 40 −3
United Kingdom Great Britain 1 0 0 1 1 12 −11
 Greece 7 2 3 2 17 8 +9
 Hungary 45 16 11 18 77 91 −14
 Iceland 13 9 2 2 30 13 +17
 Israel 12 7 4 1 26 9 +17
 Italy 22 6 6 10 24 27 −3
 Jamaica 2 1 1 0 2 1 +1
 Japan 5 1 3 1 7 7 0
 Jordan 1 0 1 0 0 0 0
 Latvia 17 11 4 2 54 12 +42
 Liechtenstein 2 2 0 0 6 1 +5
 Lithuania 5 5 0 0 22 3 +19
 Luxembourg 4 3 1 0 7 1 +6
 Macedonia 2 2 0 0 3 1 +2
 Malaysia 1 1 0 0 3 1 +2
 Malta 11 11 0 0 42 2 +40
 Mexico 9 4 3 2 8 5 +3
 Moldova 4 4 0 0 14 2 +12
 Montenegro 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1
 Netherlands 23 8 5 10 47 44 +3
 Nigeria 2 2 0 0 5 2 +3
 North Korea 2 1 1 0 5 1 +4
 Northern Ireland 7 3 1 3 7 10 −3
 Norway 104 59 21 24 272 143 +129
 Oman 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1
 Paraguay 3 1 1 1 4 4 0
 Poland 26 14 4 8 56 37 +19
 Portugal 15 6 6 3 24 14 +10
 Qatar 2 1 1 0 3 2 +1
 Republic of Ireland 8 4 1 3 14 12 +2
 Romania 9 4 3 2 20 10 +10
 Russia 6 3 2 1 11 7 +4
 San Marino 4 4 0 0 22 0 +22
 Saudi Arabia 3 2 1 0 6 3 +3
 Scotland 12 6 1 5 19 14 +5
 Senegal 1 0 0 1 1 2 −1
 Serbia 1 0 0 1 0 2 −2
 Singapore 1 1 0 0 5 0 +5
 Slovakia 3 2 1 0 4 1 +3
 Slovenia 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1
 South Africa 2 1 0 1 3 1 +2
South Africa South Africa Development 1 0 1 0 1 1 0
 South Korea 4 2 2 0 17 3 +14
 Soviet Union 18 5 6 7 21 37 −16
 Spain 13 3 4 6 15 21 −6
 Switzerland 28 10 7 11 46 42 +4
 Syria 1 0 1 0 1 1 0
 Thailand 5 4 1 0 13 4 +9
 Trinidad and Tobago 2 1 1 0 5 0 +5
 Tunisia 4 2 1 1 3 2 +1
 Turkey 8 2 4 2 9 8 +1
 Ukraine 3 1 1 1 2 2 0
 United Arab Emirates 2 1 0 1 3 2 +1
 United States 8 4 0 4 13 10 +3
 Uruguay 3 2 0 1 6 3 +3
 Venezuela 1 0 0 1 0 2 −2
 Wales 6 5 1 0 13 3 +10
 West Germany 13 4 4 5 18 21 −3
 Yugoslavia 11 4 2 5 17 19 −2
Total 942 464 204 274 1938 1272 +666
*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

[edit] 2012 fixtures

See 2012 in Swedish football.

[edit] Results by round

Round 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Ground A A A H H A H H H H A A H
Result W W

Last updated: 1 February 2012.
Source: svenskfotboll.se (Swedish)
Ground: A = Away; H = Home. Result: D = Draw; L = Lose; W = Win; P = Postponed.

[edit] Fixtures

18 January 2012
19:00 UTC+3
Sweden  2 – 0  Bahrain Al-Gharafa Stadium, Doha
Hysén Goal 58' (pen.)
Hiljemark Goal 81'
Report

23 January 2012
16:00 UTC+3
Qatar U23  0 – 5  Sweden Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha
Referee: Ali Sabah Adday (Iraq)
Report Durmaz Goal 50'
Claesson Goal 60'
Hysén Goal 69'90+2'
Thern Goal 84'

29 February 2012
20:30 UTC+1
Croatia  v  Sweden Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb

30 May 2012
Sweden  v  Iceland

5 June 2012
Sweden  v  Serbia Råsunda Stadium, Solna

11 June 2012
21:45 UTC+3
Ukraine  v  Sweden Olympic Stadium, Kiev

15 June 2012
19:00 UTC+3
Sweden  v  England Olympic Stadium, Kiev

19 June 2012
21:45 UTC+3
Sweden  v  France Olympic Stadium, Kiev

15 August 2012
Sweden  v  Brazil Råsunda Stadium, Solna

11 September 2012
Sweden  v  Kazakhstan

12 October 2012
Faroe Islands  v  Sweden

16 October 2012
Germany  v  Sweden Olympic Stadium, Berlin

14 November 2012
Sweden  v  England Swedbank Arena, Solna

[edit] Goalscorers

Rank Player Club Goals
1 Tobias Hysén Sweden IFK Göteborg 3
2 Oscar Hiljemark Sweden Elfsborg 1
Jimmy Durmaz Sweden Malmö FF 1
Viktor Claesson Sweden Elfsborg 1
Simon Thern Sweden Malmö FF 1

[edit] Current squad

The following 21 players have been called up for the friendly matches against Bahrain on 18 January 2012 and Qatar U23 on 23 January 2012.[5]

Not players who withdrew from the squad due to injury. Caps and goals updated as of 18 January 2012.

0#0 Pos. Player Date of Birth (Age) Caps Goals Club
1 GK Pär Hansson June 22, 1986 (1986-06-22) (age 25) 2 0 Sweden Helsingborg
12 GK Johan Dahlin September 8, 1986 (1986-09-08) (age 25) 3 0 Sweden Malmö FF
23 GK Karl-Johan Johnsson January 28, 1990 (1990-01-28) (age 22) 1 0 Sweden Halmstad
2 DF Adam Johansson February 21, 1983 (1983-02-21) (age 28) 11 0 United States Seattle Sounders
3 DF Niklas Backman November 13, 1988 (1988-11-13) (age 23) 3 0 Sweden AIK
4 DF Markus Holgersson April 16, 1985 (1985-04-16) (age 26) 1 0 United States New York Red Bulls
5 DF Emil Salomonsson April 28, 1989 (1989-04-28) (age 22) 3 0 Sweden IFK Göteborg
13 DF Pontus Jansson February 13, 1991 (1991-02-13) (age 21) 1 0 Sweden Malmö FF
14 DF Erdin Demir March 27, 1990 (1990-03-27) (age 21) 2 0 Norway Brann
15 DF Mikael Dyrestam December 10, 1991 (1991-12-10) (age 20) 2 0 Sweden IFK Göteborg
6 MF Jiloan Hamad November 6, 1990 (1990-11-06) (age 21) 4 0 Sweden Malmö FF
7 MF Jimmy Durmaz March 22, 1989 (1989-03-22) (age 22) 3 1 Sweden Malmö FF
8 MF Anders Svensson (vice captain) July 17, 1976 (1976-07-17) (age 35) 125 18 Sweden Elfsborg
16 MF Oscar Hiljemark June 28, 1992 (1992-06-28) (age 19) 2 1 Sweden Elfsborg
17 MF Erik Friberg February 10, 1986 (1986-02-10) (age 26) 2 0 Sweden Malmö FF
18 MF Marcus Olsson May 17, 1988 (1988-05-17) (age 23) 2 0 England Blackburn Rovers
19 MF Niklas Hult February 13, 1990 (1990-02-13) (age 22) 2 0 Sweden Elfsborg
9 FW Stefan Ishizaki May 15, 1982 (1982-05-15) (age 29) 13 0 Sweden Elfsborg
10 FW Tobias Hysén March 9, 1982 (1982-03-09) (age 29) 20 7 Sweden IFK Göteborg
11 FW Viktor Claesson January 2, 1992 (1992-01-02) (age 20) 2 1 Sweden Elfsborg
20 FW Simon Thern September 18, 1992 (1992-09-18) (age 19) 1 1 Sweden Malmö FF

[edit] Recent call-ups

The following 29 players have been selected by Sweden in the past 12 months. Only players available for call-up, not retired players.

Pos. Player Date of Birth (Age) Caps Goals Club Latest Call-up
GK Andreas Isaksson October 3, 1981 (1981-10-03) (age 30) 90 0 Netherlands PSV v.  England, 15 November 2011
GK Johan Wiland January 24, 1981 (1981-01-24) (age 31) 7 0 Denmark Copenhagen v.  England, 15 November 2011
DF Michael Almebäck April 4, 1988 (1988-04-04) (age 23) 4 0 Belgium Club Brugge v.  England, 15 November 2011
DF Andreas Granqvist April 16, 1985 (1985-04-16) (age 26) 15 2 Italy Genoa v.  England, 15 November 2011
DF Mikael Lustig December 13, 1986 (1986-12-13) (age 25) 23 1 Scotland Celtic v.  England, 15 November 2011
DF Daniel Majstorović April 5, 1977 (1977-04-05) (age 34) 48 2 Scotland Celtic v.  England, 15 November 2011
DF Olof Mellberg September 3, 1977 (1977-09-03) (age 34) 111 7 Greece Olympiacos v.  England, 15 November 2011
DF Jonas Olsson March 10, 1983 (1983-03-10) (age 28) 5 0 England West Bromwich Albion v.  England, 15 November 2011
DF Martin Olsson May 17, 1988 (1988-05-17) (age 23) 7 4 England Blackburn Rovers v.  England, 15 November 2011
DF Behrang Safari February 9, 1985 (1985-02-09) (age 27) 23 0 Belgium Anderlecht v.  England, 15 November 2011
DF Pierre Bengtsson April 12, 1988 (1988-04-12) (age 23) 3 0 Denmark Copenhagen v.  Netherlands, 11 October 2011
DF Mikael Antonsson May 31, 1981 (1981-05-31) (age 30) 4 0 Italy Bologna v.  San Marino, 6 September 2011
DF Oscar Wendt October 24, 1985 (1985-10-24) (age 26) 18 0 Germany Borussia Mönchengladbach v.  San Marino, 6 September 2011
MF Ivo Pękalski November 3, 1990 (1990-11-03) (age 21) 0 0 Sweden Malmö FF v.  Qatar U23, 23 January 2012
MF Emir Bajrami March 7, 1988 (1988-03-07) (age 23) 14 2 Netherlands Twente v.  England, 15 November 2011
MF Rasmus Elm March 17, 1988 (1988-03-17) (age 23) 21 1 Netherlands AZ v.  England, 15 November 2011
MF Samuel Holmén June 28, 1984 (1984-06-28) (age 27) 24 2 Turkey İstanbul BB v.  England, 15 November 2011
MF Kim Källström August 24, 1982 (1982-08-24) (age 29) 89 16 France Lyon v.  England, 15 November 2011
MF Sebastian Larsson June 6, 1985 (1985-06-06) (age 26) 38 3 England Sunderland v.  England, 15 November 2011
MF Pontus Wernbloom June 25, 1986 (1986-06-25) (age 25) 20 2 Russia CSKA Moscow v.  England, 15 November 2011
MF Christian Wilhelmsson December 8, 1979 (1979-12-08) (age 32) 72 8 Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal v.  England, 15 November 2011
MF Albin Ekdal July 28, 1989 (1989-07-28) (age 22) 1 0 Italy Cagliari v.  Ukraine, 10 August 2011
FW Mathias Ranégie June 14, 1984 (1984-06-14) (age 27) 2 1 Sweden Malmö FF v.  Qatar U23, 23 January 2012
FW Johan Elmander May 27, 1981 (1981-05-27) (age 30) 62 16 Turkey Galatasaray v.  England, 15 November 2011
FW Alexander Gerndt July 14, 1986 (1986-07-14) (age 25) 8 2 Netherlands Utrecht v.  England, 15 November 2011
FW Zlatan Ibrahimović (captain) October 3, 1981 (1981-10-03) (age 30) 74 28 Italy Milan v.  England, 15 November 2011
FW Ola Toivonen July 3, 1986 (1986-07-03) (age 25) 21 4 Netherlands PSV v.  England, 15 November 2011
FW Marcus Berg August 17, 1986 (1986-08-17) (age 25) 19 5 Germany Hamburg v.  Moldova, 29 March 2011
FW Markus Rosenberg September 27, 1982 (1982-09-27) (age 29) 30 6 Germany Werder Bremen v.  Moldova, 29 March 2011

[edit] Previous squads

FIFA World Cup
Olympic Games
UEFA European Championship

[edit] Coaching staff

Head Coach Sweden Erik Hamrén
Assistant Coach Sweden Marcus Allbäck
Goalkeeper Coach Sweden Lars Eriksson
Players manager Sweden Marcus Allbäck
Team manager Sweden Lars Richt

[edit] Top 10 most appearances (caps)

Players in bold text are still active with Sweden.

# Player Career Caps Goals
1 Thomas Ravelli 1981–1997 143 0
2 Anders Svensson 1999– 125 18
3 Roland Nilsson 1986–2000 116 2
4 Björn Nordqvist 1963–1978 115 0
5 Olof Mellberg 2000– 111 7
6 Niclas Alexandersson 1993–2008 109 7
7 Henrik Larsson 1993–2009 106 37
8 Patrik Andersson 1992–2002 96 3
9 Orvar Bergmark 1951–1965 94 0
10 Andreas Isaksson 2002– 90 0

Last updated: 23 January 2012

[edit] Top 10 most goals

Players in bold text are still active with Sweden.

# Player Career Goals Caps
1 Sven Rydell 1921–1932 49 43
2 Gunnar Nordahl 1942–1948 43 33
3 Henrik Larsson 1993–2009 37 106
4 Gunnar Gren 1939–1958 32 57
5 Kennet Andersson 1990–2000 31 83
6 Marcus Allbäck 1999–2008 30 74
7 Martin Dahlin 1991–1997 29 60
8 Zlatan Ibrahimović 2001– 28 74
9 Agne Simonsson 1956–1961 27 51
10 Tomas Brolin 1990–1995 26 47

Last updated: 15 November 2011

[edit] Managers

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Torgny Mogren
Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal
1994
Succeeded by
Annika Sörenstam
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