Sweden men's national football team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Sweden women's national football team.

Sweden

Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)	Blågult (The Blue-Yellow)
Association	Svenska Fotbollförbundet (SvFF)
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Janne Andersson
Captain	Andreas Granqvist
Most caps	Anders Svensson (148)
Top scorer	Zlatan Ibrahimović (62)
Home stadium	Friends Arena
FIFA code	SWE
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	24 1 (7 June 2018)
Highest	2 (November 1994)
Lowest	45 (March 2015, October–November 2015, March 2017)
First international
Sweden 11–3 Norway (Gothenburg, Sweden; 12 July 1908)
Biggest win
Sweden 12–0 Latvia (Stockholm, Sweden; 29 May 1927) Sweden 12–0 South Korea (London, England; 5 August 1948)
Biggest defeat
Great Britain 12–1 Sweden (London, England; 20 October 1908)
World Cup
Appearances	12 (first in 1934)
Best result	Runners-up (1958)
European Championship
Appearances	6 (first in 1992)
Best result	Semi-finals (1992)
Medal record Olympic Games 1948 London Team 1924 Paris Team 1952 Helsinki Team World Cup 1958 Sweden Team 1950 Brazil Team 1994 United States Team

The Sweden national football team (Template:Lang-sv) 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 Friends Arena in the Stockholm urban area and the team is led by Janne Andersson.

Sweden made their first World Cup appearance in 1934. Sweden has made eleven World Cup appearances and six appearances in the European Championships. They finished second in the 1958 FIFA 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.

History

Sweden has traditionally been a strong team in international football, with 11 World Cup appearances and 3 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.

Early history

The Sweden team in 1911.

Sweden played its first international game against Norway on 12 July 1908, an 11–3 victory. Other matches in 1908 were played against England, Great Britain, the Netherlands (twice) and Belgium; Sweden lost all five matches. 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 1–12, the biggest loss in the Swedish national team's history.

In 1916, Sweden defeated 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.

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 Germany's occupation of Austria, the Austrian team could not continue playing in the tournament. Instead, Sweden went straight to the quarter-finals 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 third-place match against Brazil. In that game the Swedes lost 2–4, and ended in fourth place for the first and only time in Swedish football history.

1948 Summer Olympics

The Sweden team that won the Gold Medal.

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.

1950 World Cup

The Swedish squad.

In the 1950 World Cup, the Swedish football association did not allow any professional Swedish football players to take part. Consequently, Sweden 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 match, Sweden beat Italy 3–2 in São Paulo. The second match 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 hosts Brazil. It was played at the Maracanã Stadium 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 goodbye 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. As Sweden was the best placed European team, Sweden was, as the time, regarded "unofficial European champions".

At the Summer Olympics in 1952 in Helsinki, Sweden continued to achieve success and won an Olympic bronze. The following year, the Football Association decided not to allow foreign professionals to play in the national team and the team failed to qualify for the World Championships in Switzerland in 1954 when Sweden only came second in their qualifying group behind Belgium.

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-finals, 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.

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 quarter-finals, 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.

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, 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. The Swedish team had profiles that Ronnie Hellström, Bo Larsson and Björn Nordqvist.

Sweden did not qualify for the European Championship quarter-finals game in 1976. On 11 May 1976, Sweden lost for the first time since 1937 at home to Denmark.

1978 World Cup

1978 took Sweden for the third consecutive World Cup. Sweden made it from the qualifiers in a three team group with Switzerland and Norway as opponents. The qualifying session was played in 1976 and 1977 in the World Cup 1978 in Argentina, Sweden played the first match with a draw (1–1) against Brazil. Swedish scorer was Thomas Sjöberg. 1–1 was Sweden's best result so far in the World Cup against Brazil context (the result was repeated between the two countries at the World Cup finals in 1994). The team then lost against Austria (0–1) and Spain (0–1). The Swedish team finished last in the group with 1 point and goal difference 1–3. Several of the profiles from 1974, still with (Larsson, Edström, Nordqvist) but also new players such as Anders Linderoth, Hasse Borg and Torbjörn Nilsson.

1979–1990

After the successful 1970s, 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 team coach. They failed to qualify to the 1982 FIFA World Cup, ending third to Scotland and Northern Ireland. In 1983, Sweden met Brazil in Gothenburg to play a friendly, the match ended 3–3. They failed to qualify for the UEFA Euro 1984, despite defeating the then-reigning world champions Italy 3–0 in Naples, including two goals by Glenn Strömberg. Sweden however lost both away and at home against the group winner, Romania. The Swedish setbacks continued. After the failed qualification for the 1986 World Cup, Olle Nordin took over the team. Sweden lost their match against Czechoslovakia with 1-2 in the final qualifying round, while Portugal unexpectedly won 1–0 away against West Germany and took second place in the group. It was West Germany's first ever loss in a World Cup qualifier.

Sweden also failed to qualify to the UEFA Euro 1988 in West Germany. They 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. As of May 2018, it is the only time that Sweden has failed to score points in a World Cup tournament. After the World Cup, Olle Nordin resigned and Nisse Andersson became a temporary coach until Tommy Svensson took over in 1991.

1992 European Championship

As the host of the UEFA Euro 1992, Sweden played in their first ever European Championship tournament. They were drawn in group A 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 with 2–3. As of July 2016, the semi-final place remains Sweden's best result ever in a European Championship.

1994 World Cup

Sweden qualified for the 1994 World Cup in the United States 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 in Los Angeles 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 in Detroit, 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, with the final result being 3–1. In the last group stage match, against Brazil (also in Detroit), they tied 1–1 after goals by Kennet Andersson ('23) and Romário ('47).

In the first knockout-stage match, Sweden faced Saudi Arabia in the extreme heat and humidity of Dallas, where the game started at the hottest time of day- 4:30 p.m. where temperatures went past 40C (104F) in an outdoor stadium. Sweden won 3–1 after two goals from Kennet Andersson and one from Martin Dahlin. Sweden's quarter-final match in San Francisco 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 Răducioiu, 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 Daniel Prodan and Miodrag Belodedici, giving Sweden the win and making himself a hero. Sweden advanced to the semi-finals, where they were to face Brazil in Los Angeles. 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 a Bulgaria side that had lost to Italy in their semi-final match in New York City. Sweden scored 4 goals in the first half, but the second half went goal-less. Sweden finished 3rd and won the bronze medal, the best placing for the national team in a World Cup since the 1958 silver medal. This led Sweden to a second-place in the FIFA World Rankings for one month, in November 1994.

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

1995–1997

After the World Cup in 1994, Sweden had difficulty reaching up to the same level. The national team was knocked out in qualifying for the 1996 European Championships in England and the World Cup in France in 1998. The qualification for the Euro 96 had started with a win for Sweden 1–0 away against Iceland in September 1994, but then lost against Switzerland away from home. In November 1994, Tomas Brolin broke his foot in a win against Hungary. In the spring of 1995 continued failure in the European Championship qualifiers. Sweden lost the away games against Turkey and played 1–1 draw at home to Iceland. When Sweden drew 0–0 against Switzerland in Gothenburg in September 1995, it was clear that the team would miss the European Championship finals.

The qualifying game for the France 98 was not better. In October 1996, Austria won 1–0 in Stockholm and the month after the Swedes lost against Scotland on away ground. Admittedly, Sweden won against Scotland in the return match in Gothenburg on Walpurgis Night in 1997, but in September 1997 won Austria 1–0 in Vienna. In October 1997, Tommy Svensson quit as head coach and Tommy Söderberg took over.

2000 European Championship

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 an error by Belgian goalkeeper Filip De Wilde, while Belgium won via goals from Bart Goor in the 43rd minute and Émile Mpenza in the 46th. 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.

2002 World Cup

Further information: 2002 FIFA World Cup Group F

In the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Sweden was drawn in the "group of death", Group F, which also featured 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. The equalizing goal was scored by midfielder Niclas Alexandersson, a powerful left-foot shot from outside the box past David Seaman. The match ended 1–1. In the next game, Sweden played Nigeria. Julius Aghahowa gave Nigeria the lead by heading in a cross from the right. 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. Sweden midfielder Anders Svensson scored a freekick goal from 30 meters. Andreas Andersson had a shot off the crossbar and out in an attempt to extend the lead. Mattias Jonson committed a foul in the penalty area and Argentina was awarded 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 keeper's legs. The goal was controversial because Crespo began running into the box at the same time as Ortega stepped up to shoot. However, the match ended 1–1 and Sweden won the group, England on second place, Argentina third and Nigeria last.

Further information: 2002 FIFA World Cup knockout stage

In the round of 16, Sweden played Senegal. Henrik Larsson gave Sweden an early lead by heading in a corner from Anders Svensson. Senegal equalized through Henri Camara. They 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 Senegal's keeper Tony Sylva. Ibrahimović had Larsson and Svensson in excellent positions for a pass, but shot instead. Then Svensson made a great spin past a defender and hit the post with a powerful shot, which Sylva would have had no chance of saving, had it gone inside the posts. Camara then took a weak shot which went past Hedman, off the post and into the goal. Consequently, Sweden were eliminated.

UEFA Euro 2004

Sweden's Henrik Larsson taking a free kick against the Netherlands in the UEFA Euro 2004 quarter-finals.

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 Ibrahimović. 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 Ibrahimović on a penalty and the substitute Marcus Allbäck scored the last goal of the game. After the 5–0 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. Ibrahimović 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 for a long time. But at the end of the game, Mattias Jonson scored the equalizer after numerous 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 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.

Swedish national team of 2006.

2006 World Cup

Sweden competed in Group B at the 2006 World Cup. Their squad for the tournament featured players who played club football in eleven different nations. Sweden started the World Cup slowly, recording a goal-less draw 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.

2008 European Championship and 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers

Sweden and Spain meet in UEFA Euro 2008 Group D.

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 an 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 defeat 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.

2012 European Championship and 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers

The Swedish team before playing against Austria in 2013 during the 2014 FIFA World Cup 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 Chișinău 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 tenure 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 2 December 2011, Sweden were drawn into Group D alongside England, Ukraine and France in the Euro 2012 competition.

In their Euro 2012 opening match Sweden lost against host nation Ukraine with 2–1. In their second group match Sweden lost to England with 3–2, thus eliminating them from the tournament. In the third game, a Swedish team with nothing to lose or gain outplayed France in a 2–0 victory.

Playing in Group C of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Sweden finished second behind Germany, and was one of eight teams to move on to the second round of qualification. A notable result during group play was their match in Germany on 16 October 2012 where they fought back from 4–0 down with 30 minutes remaining to draw the game 4–4 at the Olympiastadion, and was widely regarded as one of the most memorable comebacks in the history.

A key win in their group was the home game against Austria on 11 October 2013, as Martin Olsson and Zlatan Ibrahimović both scored in the second half to secure the win at the Friends Arena.

Using the October 2013 FIFA World Rankings, Sweden was ranked 25th overall and would face one of the four highest ranked teams in the second round of qualification. They were drawn to face Portugal, the team that beat Sweden for a qualification spot in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers. After a 1–0 loss in Lisbon and a 3–2 loss in Solna, Portugal won 4–2 on aggregate and Sweden once again failed to qualify for the World Cup.

UEFA Euro 2016

Main article: UEFA Euro 2016

The Swedish team before playing against Russia in 2015 during the Euro 2016 qualifiers

Competing in Group G of the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifiers, Sweden picked up their first point on the road in Austria with a 1–1 draw on 8 September 2014. After a 1–1 draw against Russia at the Friends Arena, Sweden then picked up their first win in their next match with a 2–0 result against Liechtenstein. Sweden then went unbeaten for another three matches before suffering two consecutive defeats, a 1–0 loss to Russia in Moscow and a crushing 4–1 home defeat to group leaders Austria. This caused Sweden to move down to third place in their group, just one point above fourth-placed Montenegro. Sweden then bounced back to win their final two group games against Liechtenstein and Moldova with the scoreline being 2–0 on both occasions. They finished their group in third position behind Austria and Russia and qualified for the playoffs. Sweden were drawn against big rivals Denmark and won 4–3 on aggregate, qualifying for the UEFA Euro 2016. They were, however, eliminated from the group stage from their poor performance.

2018 World Cup

Main article: 2018 FIFA World Cup

On 25 July, 2015, Sweden were drawn in Group A of 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification. The team scored six wins, a draw and three losses. As a result, they tied with the Netherlands in points, and claimed second place on goal difference.

On 13 November, 2017, Sweden qualified for the 2018 World Cup after a 0–0 draw away to Italy at the San Siro during the second leg of their qualification play-off match. As Sweden had won the first match 1–0, this resulted in a Swedish win on aggregate.

Swedish supporters during the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Dortmund, Germany

At the 2018 World Cup, Sweden started its campaign by a 1-0 win over South Korea in the first match on 18 June, through a penalty goal decided by the new VAR technology. In their second match on 23 June they continued with a loss against Germany, after Sweden attained 1-0 in the first half Germany got 1-1 early on in the second half and won with a goal in the last 15 seconds in the 95th minute. Despite this loss, Sweden advanced to the knockout stage top of the group with a 3-0 win over Mexico, while Germany were knocked out bottom of the group with a 2-0 loss to South Korea.

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 "Come on, 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 in Germany, 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.

Rivalry

Main article: Denmark–Sweden football rivalry

Traditionally, Sweden have a strong rivalry with its neighbours, in particular Denmark, but also Norway and Finland. Through the years, however, a rivalry with England has also developed.

Kits and crest

File:Sweden national football team logo.png

Former crest (2003–2017). Variants of this crest have been used since 1968, which then replaced the flag of Sweden.

Kit evolution

Home

1934	1938	1950	1958	1970	1974	1978	1990	1992
1994	2000	2002	2004	2006	2006 (alternate)	2008	2010	2012
2013	2014	2016	2018

Away

1990

1994

2002

2002 (against Nigeria)

2008

2012

2013

2014

2016

2018

Kit sponsorship

Kit supplier	Period
Umbro	1970 FIFA World Cup
Adidas	1974–2003
Umbro	2003–2013
Adidas	2013–present

Stadium

Up until 2012, the Swedish national stadium was Råsunda Fotbollsstadion, but it was replaced in 2012 by the new national stadium Friends Arena. According to FIFA, Råsunda Stadion was 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 40,000 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 four big tournaments. Ullevi in Gothenburg is used for some games which Sweden plays, such as the centennial game of the Swedish football association, against England in 2004. Even other stadiums, such as Stadion in Malmö, are used for the national team.

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

Main article: Sweden at the FIFA World Cup

Sweden in the 1958 FIFA World Cup Final.

Sweden playing against Germany in the 2006 FIFA World Cup at Munich's Allianz Arena.

FIFA World Cup record										FIFA World Cup qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D *	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930	Did not enter									No qualification
1934	Quarter-finals	8th	2	1	0	1	4	4		2	2	0	0	8	2
1938	Fourth place	4th	3	1	0	2	11	9		3	2	0	1	11	7
1950	Third place	3rd	5	2	1	2	11	15		2	2	0	0	6	2
1954	Did not qualify									4	1	1	2	9	8
1958	Runners-up	2nd	6	4	1	1	12	7		Qualified as hosts
1962	Did not qualify									5	3	0	2	11	5
1966										4	2	1	1	10	3
1970	Group stage	9th	3	1	1	1	2	2		4	3	0	1	12	5
1974	Second round	5th	6	2	2	2	7	6		7	4	2	1	17	9
1978	Group stage	13th	3	0	1	2	1	3		4	3	0	1	7	4
1982	Did not qualify									8	3	2	3	7	8
1986										8	4	1	3	14	9
1990	Group stage	21st	3	0	0	3	3	6		6	4	2	0	9	3
1994	Third place	3rd	7	3	3	1	15	8		10	6	3	1	19	8
1998	Did not qualify									10	7	0	3	16	9
2002	Round of 16	13th	4	1	2	1	5	5		10	8	2	0	20	3
2006	Round of 16	14th	4	1	2	1	3	4		10	8	0	2	30	4
2010	Did not qualify									10	5	3	2	13	5
2014										12	6	2	4	21	18
2018	Qualified		3	2	0	1	5	2		12	7	2	3	27	9
2022	To be determined
2026
Total	Best: Runners-up	12/21	49	18	13	18	79	71		130	79	21	30	263	121

*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.

UEFA European Championship

Main article: Sweden at the UEFA European Football Championship

Swedish supporters during UEFA Euro 2008.

Sweden at the UEFA Euro 2012.

UEFA European Championship record										UEFA European Championship qualifying record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D *	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1960	Did not enter									Did not enter
1964	Did not qualify									6	2	3	1	8	7
1968										6	2	1	3	9	12
1972										6	2	2	2	3	5
1976										6	3	0	3	8	9
1980										6	1	2	3	9	13
1984										8	5	1	2	14	5
1988										8	4	2	2	12	5
1992	Semi-finals	3rd	4	2	1	1	6	5		Qualified as hosts
1996	Did not qualify									8	2	3	3	9	10
2000	Group stage	14th	3	0	1	2	2	4		8	7	1	0	10	1
2004	Quarter-finals	7th	4	1	3	0	8	3		8	5	2	1	19	3
2008	Group stage	10th	3	1	0	2	3	4		12	8	2	2	23	9
2012	Group stage	11th	3	1	0	2	5	5		10	8	0	2	31	11
2016	Group stage	20th	3	0	1	2	1	3		12	6	4	2	19	12
2020	To be determined
Total	Best: Semi-finals	6/15	20	5	6	9	25	24		105	56	23	26	178	102

*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.

Olympic Games

Sweden at the 1912 Summer Olympics.

Football at the Summer Olympics was first played officially in 1908. The Olympiads between 1896 and 1980 were only open for amateur players. The 1984 and 1988 tournaments were open to players with no appearances in the FIFA World Cup. After the 1988 Olympics, the football event was changed into a tournament for U23 teams with a maximum of three older players. See Sweden national under-23 football team for competition record from 1992 until present day.

Olympic Games record										Olympic Games qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D *	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1908	Fourth place	4th	2	0	0	2	1	14		No qualification
1912	Round of 16	9th	2	0	0	2	3	5		No qualification
1920	Quarter-finals	6th	3	1	0	2	14	7
1924	Third place	3rd	5	3	1	1	18	5		No qualification
1928	Did not enter									No qualification
1936	Round of 16	9th	1	0	0	1	2	3
1948	Champions	1st	4	4	0	0	22	3		No qualification
1952	Third place	3rd	4	3	0	1	9	8		No qualification
1956	Did not enter									Did not enter
1960
1964	Did not qualify									2	0	1	1	2	6
1968	Did not enter									Did not enter
1972
1976
1980
Total	1 title	7/15	21	11	1	9	69	45		2	0	1	1	2	6

*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.

UEFA Nations League

UEFA Championship record
Year	Division	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
2018–19	B	To be determined
Total		—	1/1	0	0	0	0	0	0

Nordic Football Championship

Nordic Football Championship record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D *	L	GF	GA
1924–28	Runners-up	2nd	10	6	1	3	31	19
1929–32	Runners-up	2nd	12	6	1	5	35	31
1933–36	Champions	1st	12	7	2	3	31	22
1937–47	Champions	1st	12	9	0	3	41	16
1948–51	Champions	1st	12	7	2	3	36	22
1952–55	Champions	1st	12	8	4	0	44	14
1956–59	Champions	1st	12	9	2	1	45	17
1960–63	Champions	1st	12	7	3	2	24	10
1964–67	Champions	1st	12	5	4	3	22	14
1968–71	Champions	1st	12	10	2	0	32	10
1972–77	Champions	1st	12	8	2	2	24	9
1978–80	Runners-up	2nd	6	3	0	3	7	6
1981–85	Runners-up	2nd	6	3	1	2	7	4
2000–01	Fifth place	5th	5	1	2	2	3	4
Total	9 titles	14/14	147	89	26	32	382	198

*Gold background color indicates that the tournament was won.

Minor tournaments

Minor tournaments record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D *	L	GF	GA
1939 DBU 50 years	Semi-final	3rd	1	0	0	1	0	1
1947 FBF 40 years	Winners	1st	2	2	0	0	11	2
1952 NFF 50 years	Runners-up	2nd	2	1	0	1	3	3
1954 SvFF 50 years	Winners	1st	2	2	0	0	9	0
1957 FBF 50 years	Winners	1st	2	1	1	0	5	1
1981 Lahti Cup	Runners-up	2nd	2	1	0	1	5	4
1988 Maspalomas	Winners	1st	2	2	0	0	5	1
1988 West Berlin	Winners	1st	2	1	1	0	3	1
1989 DBU 100 years	Runners-up	2nd	2	1	0	1	2	7
1991 Scania 100	Third place	3rd	2	1	0	1	6	3
1994 Joe Robbie Cup	Winners	1st	2	1	1	0	3	1
1994 Nordic Cup	Winners	1st	2	1	0	1	2	1
1995 Umbro Cup	Third place	3rd	3	0	2	1	5	6
1996 Carlsberg Cup	Winners	1st	2	1	1	0	2	1
1997 King's Cup	Winners	1st	4	3	1	0	6	1
2001 King's Cup	Winners	1st	4	2	2	0	9	3
2003 King's Cup	Winners	1st	4	3	1	0	12	4
2004 Carlsberg Cup	Third place	3rd	2	1	0	1	3	3
2010 King's Cup	Withdrew
2011 Cyprus Cup	Runners-up	2nd	2	1	1	0	3	1
2013 King's Cup	Winners	1st	2	1	1	0	4	1
Total	12 titles		46	26	12	8	98	45

*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.

Titles

Competition				Total
World Cup	0	1	2	3
European Championship	0	0	1	1
Olympic Games	1	0	2	3
Total	1	1	5	7

Major titles

• FIFA World Cup
  • Runner-up (1): 1958
  • Third place (2): 1950, 1994
  • Fourth place (1): 1938
• UEFA European Championship
  • Semi-final (1): 1992
• Olympic football tournament
  • Gold Medal (1): 1948
  • Bronze Medal (2): 1924, 1952

Minor titles

• Nordic Football Championship
  • Winners (9): 1933–36, 1937–47, 1948–51, 1952–55, 1956–59, 1960–63, 1964–67, 1968–71, 1972–77
• FBF 40 years
  • Winners (1): 1947
• SvFF 50 years
  • Winners (1): 1954
• FBF 50 years
  • Winners (1): 1957
• Maspalomas Tournament
  • Winners (1): 1988
• West Berlin Tournament
  • Winners (1): 1988
• Joe Robbie Cup
  • Winners (1): 1994
• Nordic Cup
  • Winners (1): 1994
• Carlsberg Cup
  • Winners (1): 1996
• King's Cup
  • Winners (4): 1997, 2001, 2003, 2013

All-time record

The following table shows Sweden's all-time international record. The abandoned match against Denmark on 2 June 2007 here counts as a draw.

Statistics updated as of 18 June 2018.

Against	Played	Won	Drawn *	Lost	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Albania	5	3	1	1	10	5	+5	60%
Algeria	4	3	1	0	9	1	+8	75%
Argentina	3	1	1	1	6	6	0	33.33%
Australia	5	1	2	2	2	2	0	20%
Austria	36	13	6	17	55	55	0	36.11%
Azerbaijan	2	2	0	0	4	0	+4	100%
Bahrain	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2	100%
Barbados	1	1	0	0	4	0	+4	100%
Belarus	5	5	0	0	16	2	+14	100%
Belgium	15	5	2	8	30	23	+7	33.33%
Bosnia and Herzegovina	1	1	0	0	4	2	+2	100%
Botswana	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1	100%
Brazil	15	2	3	10	17	35	−18	13.33%
Bulgaria	16	11	2	3	31	11	+20	68.75%
Cameroon	1	0	1	0	2	2	0	0%
Chile	2	0	1	1	2	3	−1	0%
China	3	2	1	0	6	2	+4	66.67%
Colombia	2	0	2	0	2	2	0	0%
Costa Rica	2	1	0	1	2	2	0	50%
Croatia	4	1	0	3	4	5	−1	25%
Cuba	1	1	0	0	8	0	+8	100%
Cyprus	6	5	1	0	19	3	+16	83.33%
Czech Republic	3	1	2	0	6	5	+1	33.33%
Czechoslovakia	16	3	4	9	21	36	−15	18.75%
Denmark	108	47	21	40	188	175	+13	43.52%
East Germany	6	2	1	3	8	9	−1	33.33%
Ecuador	2	0	1	1	2	3	−1	0%
Egypt	4	2	0	2	10	3	+7	50%
England	23	7	9	7	31	35	−4	30.43%
England Amateurs	3	0	0	3	2	18	−16	0%
Estonia	17	14	3	0	54	17	+37	82.35%
Faroe Islands	3	2	1	0	4	1	+3	66.67%
Finland	88	67	11	10	295	95	+200	76.14%
France	21	6	5	10	21	29	−8	28.57%
Germany	24	9	5	10	44	49	−5	37.5%
Great Britain	1	0	0	1	1	12	−11	0%
Greece	7	2	3	2	17	8	+9	28.57%
Hungary	46	17	11	18	79	91	−12	36.96%
Iceland	15	11	2	2	35	15	+20	73.33%
Iran	1	1	0	0	3	1	+2	100%
Israel	12	7	4	1	26	9	+17	58.33%
Italy	25	7	7	11	25	28	−3	28%
Ivory Coast	3	1	0	2	3	3	0	33.33%
Jamaica	2	1	1	0	2	1	+1	50%
Japan	5	1	3	1	7	7	0	20%
Jordan	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0%
Kazakhstan	2	2	0	0	3	0	+3	100%
Latvia	17	11	4	2	54	12	+42	64.71%
Liechtenstein	4	4	0	0	10	1	+9	100%
Lithuania	5	5	0	0	22	3	+19	100%
Luxembourg	6	5	1	0	16	1	+15	83.33%
North Macedonia	3	3	0	0	4	1	+3	100%
Malaysia	1	1	0	0	3	1	+2	100%
Malta	11	11	0	0	42	2	+40	100%
Mexico	9	4	3	2	8	5	+3	44.44%
Moldova	7	7	0	0	20	3	+17	100%
Montenegro	3	2	1	0	6	3	+3	66.67%
Netherlands	25	8	6	11	48	47	+1	32%
Nigeria	2	2	0	0	5	2	+3	100%
North Korea	3	1	2	0	6	2	+4	33.33%
Northern Ireland	7	3	1	3	7	10	−3	42.86%
Norway	107	60	23	24	277	146	+131	56.07%
Oman	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	100%
Paraguay	3	1	1	1	4	4	0	33.33%
Peru	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0%
Poland	26	14	4	8	56	37	+19	53.85%
Portugal	18	7	6	5	29	20	+9	38.89%
Qatar	2	1	1	0	3	2	+1	50%
Qatar U23	1	1	0	0	5	0	+5	100%
Republic of Ireland	11	5	3	3	17	14	+3	45.45%
Romania	10	4	3	3	20	11	+9	40%
Russia	8	3	3	2	12	9	+5	37.5%
San Marino	4	4	0	0	22	0	+22	100%
Saudi Arabia	3	2	1	0	6	3	+3	66.67%
Scotland	12	6	1	5	19	14	+5	50%
Senegal	1	0	0	1	1	2	−1	0%
Serbia	2	1	0	1	2	3	−1	50%
Singapore	1	1	0	0	5	0	+5	100%
Slovakia	5	3	2	0	10	1	+9	60%
Slovenia	2	1	1	0	1	0	+1	50%
South Africa	2	1	0	1	3	1	+2	50%
South Africa Development	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	0%
South Korea	5	3	2	0	18	3	+15	60%
Soviet Union	18	5	6	7	21	37	−16	27.78%
Spain	13	3	4	6	15	21	−6	23.08%
Switzerland	28	10	7	11	46	42	+4	35.71%
Syria	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	0%
Thailand	5	4	1	0	13	4	+9	80%
Trinidad and Tobago	2	1	1	0	5	0	+5	50%
Tunisia	4	2	1	1	3	2	+1	50%
Turkey	10	2	4	4	11	12	−1	20%
Ukraine	4	1	1	2	3	4	−1	25%
United Arab Emirates	2	1	0	1	3	2	+1	50%
United States	8	4	0	4	13	10	+3	50%
Uruguay	3	2	0	1	6	3	+3	66.67%
Venezuela	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2	0%
Wales	7	6	1	0	16	3	+13	85.71%
West Germany	13	4	4	5	18	21	−3	30.77%
Yugoslavia	11	4	2	5	17	19	−2	36.36%
Total	1028	505	223	300	2078	1359	+719	49.12%

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty shoot-out.

Matches not counted as international matches by FIFA

This is a list of matches that the Swedish FA counts as official international matches, but not FIFA. All these matches are included in the table above.

• Sweden 1–6 England Amateurs (Gothenburg, Sweden; 8 September 1908)
• England Amateurs 7–0 Sweden (Kingston upon Hull, England; 6 November 1909)
• Sweden 1–5 England Amateurs (Solna, Sweden; 10 June 1914)
• Sweden 4–1 Norway (Tampere, Finland; 21 July 1952)
• Sweden 3–1 Austria (Helsinki, Finland; 23 July 1952)
• Hungary 6–0 Sweden (Helsinki, Finland; 28 July 1952)
• Sweden 2–0 Germany (Helsinki, Finland; 1 August 1952)
• Hungary 4–0 Sweden (Budapest, Hungary; 4 May 1963)
• Sweden 2–2 Hungary (Gothenburg, Sweden; 27 October 1963)
• Sweden 4–2 Norway (Lahti, Finland; 28 February 1981)
• Sweden 4–0 United States (Jönköping, Sweden; 23 February 1984)
• Thailand 0–0 Sweden (Bangkok, Thailand; 11 February 1997)
• Sweden 1–0 Japan (Bangkok, Thailand; 13 February 1997)
• Thailand 1–3 Sweden (Bangkok, Thailand; 16 February 1997)
• Sweden 1–0 Denmark (La Manga, Spain; 31 January 2000)
• South Africa Development 1–1 Sweden (Nelspruit, South Africa; 22 January 2011)
• Cyprus 0–2 Sweden (Nicosia, Cyprus; 8 February 2011)
• Qatar U23 0–5 Sweden (Doha, Qatar; 23 January 2012)
• Sweden 1–1 (4–1 p) North Korea (Chiang Mai, Thailand; 23 January 2013)
• Sweden 3–0 Finland (Chiang Mai, Thailand; 26 January 2013)
• Sweden 0–1 Finland (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; 19 January 2015)
• Sweden 1–1 Estonia (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; 6 January 2016)
• Finland 0–3 Sweden (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; 10 January 2016)
• Sweden 1–2 Ivory Coast (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; 8 January 2017)
• Sweden 6–0 Slovakia (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; 12 January 2017)
• Sweden 1–1 Estonia (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; 7 January 2018)
• Sweden 1–0 Denmark (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; 11 January 2018)

Results and fixtures

2017

See also: 2017 in Swedish football

Sweden v Ivory Coast

8 January 2017 Friendly	Sweden	1–2	Ivory Coast	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
16:45 UTC+4	Kanon 39' (o.g.)	Report	N'Guessan 45+1' Sio 50'	Stadium: Zayed Sports City Stadium Attendance: 300 Referee: Amaar Aljenabi (United Arab Emirates)

Sweden v Slovakia

12 January 2017 Friendly	Sweden	6–0	Slovakia	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
16:45 UTC+4	Isak 19' Moberg Karlsson 51' Andersson 59', 79' Frick 89' Ghoddos 90+2'	Report		Stadium: Zayed Sports City Stadium Attendance: 100 Referee: Eaasa Abdulaah Hasan (Bahrain)

Sweden v Belarus

25 March 2017 2018 FIFA WCQ	Sweden	4–0	Belarus	Solna, Sweden
18:00 UTC+1	Forsberg 19' (pen.), 49' Berg 57' Kiese Thelin 78'	Report		Stadium: Friends Arena Attendance: 31,243 Referee: Harald Lechner (Austria)

Portugal v Sweden

28 March 2017 Friendly	Portugal	2–3	Sweden	Funchal, Portugal
19:45 UTC+1	Ronaldo 18' Granqvist 34' (o.g.)	Report	Claesson 57', 76' Cancelo 90+2' (o.g.)	Stadium: Estádio do Marítimo Attendance: 10,415 Referee: Clément Turpin (France)

Sweden v France

9 June 2017 2018 FIFA WCQ	Sweden	2–1	France	Solna, Sweden
20:45 UTC+2	Durmaz 43' Toivonen 90+3'	Report	Giroud 37'	Stadium: Friends Arena Attendance: 48,783 Referee: Martin Atkinson (England)

Norway v Sweden

13 June 2017 Friendly	Norway	1–1	Sweden	Oslo, Norway
19:45 (UTC+1)	Elyounoussi 45'	Report	Armenteros 82'	Stadium: Ullevaal Stadion Attendance: 11,940 Referee: Daniel Stefański (Poland)

Bulgaria v Sweden

31 August 2017 2018 FIFA WCQ	Bulgaria	3–2	Sweden	Sofia, Bulgaria
21:45 UTC+3	Manolev 12' Kostadinov 33' Chochev 79'	Report	Lustig 29' Berg 44'	Stadium: Vasil Levski National Stadium Attendance: 12,121 Referee: Paolo Tagliavento (Italy)

Belarus v Sweden

3 September 2017 2018 FIFA WCQ	Belarus	0–4	Sweden	Barysaw, Belarus
19:00 UTC+3		Report	Forsberg 18' Nyman 24' Berg 37' Granqvist 84' (pen.)	Stadium: Borisov Arena Attendance: 6,431 Referee: Tobias Stieler (Germany)

Sweden v Luxembourg

7 October 2017 2018 FIFA WCQ	Sweden	8–0	Luxembourg	Solna, Sweden
18:00 UTC+2	Granqvist 10' (pen.), 67' (pen.) Berg 18', 37', 54', 71' Lustig 60' Toivonen 76'	Report		Stadium: Friends Arena Attendance: 50,022 Referee: Hüseyin Göçek (Turkey)

Netherlands v Sweden

10 October 2017 2018 FIFA WCQ	Netherlands	2–0	Sweden	Amsterdam, Netherlands
20:45 UTC+2	Robben 16' (pen.), 40'	Report		Stadium: Amsterdam Arena Attendance: 41,244 Referee: Sergei Karasev (Russia)

Sweden v Italy

10 November 2017 2018 FIFA WCQ – PO	Sweden	1–0	Italy	Solna, Sweden
20:45 UTC+1	Johansson 61'	Report		Stadium: Friends Arena Attendance: 49,193 Referee: Cüneyt Çakır (Turkey)

Italy v Sweden

13 November 2017 2018 FIFA WCQ – PO	Italy	0–0	Sweden	Milan, Italy
20:45 UTC+1		Report		Stadium: San Siro Attendance: 72,696 Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain)

2018

See also: 2018 in Swedish football

Sweden v Estonia

7 January 2018 Friendly	Sweden	1–1	Estonia	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
21:15 UTC+4	Holmberg 79'	Report	Anier 58'	Stadium: Zayed Sports City Stadium Referee: Antti Munukka (Finland)

Sweden v Denmark

11 January 2018 Friendly	Sweden	1–0	Denmark	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
20:45 UTC+4	G. Nilsson 90+3'	Report		Stadium: Zayed Sports City Stadium Referee: Antti Munukka (Finland)

Sweden v Chile

24 March 2018 Friendly	Sweden	1–2	Chile	Solna, Sweden
18:00 UTC+1	Toivonen 23'	Report	Vidal 22' Bolados 90'	Stadium: Friends Arena Attendance: 48,134 Referee: Anthony Taylor (England)

Romania v Sweden

27 March 2018 Friendly	Romania	1–0	Sweden	Craiova, Romania
21:30 UTC+3	Rotariu 57'	Report		Stadium: Stadionul Ion Oblemenco Attendance: 20,000 Referee: Roi Reinshreiber (Israel)

Sweden v Denmark

2 June 2018 Friendly	Sweden	0–0	Denmark	Solna, Sweden
19:45 UTC+2		Report		Stadium: Friends Arena Attendance: 41,558 Referee: Tobias Stieler (Germany)

Sweden v Peru

9 June 2018 Friendly	Sweden	0–0	Peru	Gothenburg, Sweden
19:15 UTC+2		Report		Stadium: Ullevi Attendance: 32,163 Referee: Svein Oddvar Moen (Norway)

Sweden v South Korea

18 June 2018 2018 FIFA World Cup – GS	Sweden	1–0	South Korea	Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
15:00 UTC+3	Granqvist 65' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Nizhny Novgorod Stadium Attendance: 42,300 Referee: Joel Aguilar (El Salvador)

Germany v Sweden

23 June 2018 2018 FIFA World Cup – GS	Germany	2–1	Sweden	Sochi, Russia
21:00 UTC+3	Reus 48' Kroos 90+5'	Report	Toivonen 32'	Stadium: Fisht Olympic Stadium Attendance: 44,287 Referee: Szymon Marciniak (Poland)

Mexico v Sweden

27 June 2018 2018 FIFA World Cup – GS	Mexico	0–3	Sweden	Yekaterinburg, Russia
19:00 UTC+5		Report	Augustinsson 50' Granqvist 62' (pen.) Álvarez 74' (o.g.)	Stadium: Central Stadium Attendance: 33,061 Referee: Néstor Pitana (Argentina)

Sweden v Switzerland

Austria v Sweden

6 September 2018 Friendly	Austria	v	Sweden	Austria
20:45 UTC+1

Sweden v Turkey

10 September 2018 2018–19 UEFA Nations League	Sweden	v	Turkey	Solna, Sweden
				Stadium: Friends Arena

Russia v Sweden

11 October 2018 2018–19 UEFA Nations League

Russia

v

Sweden

Russia

Sweden v Slovakia

16 October 2018 Friendly	Sweden	v	Slovakia	Solna, Sweden
20:45 UTC+1				Stadium: Friends Arena

Turkey v Sweden

17 November 2018 2018–19 UEFA Nations League

Turkey

v

Sweden

TBA, Turkey

Sweden v Russia

20 November 2018 2018–19 UEFA Nations League	Sweden	v	Russia	Solna, Sweden
				Stadium: Friends Arena

Players

Current squad

The following 23 players have been called up for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, as well as the friendly matches against Denmark on 2 June 2018 and Peru on 9 June 2018.

Caps and goals updated as of 27 June 2018 after the match against Mexico.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Robin Olsen	(1990-01-08) 8 January 1990	21	0	Copenhagen
12	1GK	Karl-Johan Johnsson	(1990-01-28) 28 January 1990	5	0	Guingamp
23	1GK	Kristoffer Nordfeldt	(1989-06-23) 23 June 1989	8	0	Swansea City
2	2DF	Mikael Lustig	(1986-12-13) 13 December 1986	69	6	Celtic
3	2DF	Victor Lindelöf	(1994-07-17) 17 July 1994	23	1	Manchester United
4	2DF	Andreas Granqvist (captain)	(1985-04-16) 16 April 1985	75	8	Krasnodar
5	2DF	Martin Olsson	(1988-05-17) 17 May 1988	43	5	Swansea City
6	2DF	Ludwig Augustinsson	(1994-04-21) 21 April 1994	18	1	Werder Bremen
14	2DF	Filip Helander	(1993-04-22) 22 April 1993	4	0	Bologna
16	2DF	Emil Krafth	(1994-08-02) 2 August 1994	13	0	Bologna
18	2DF	Pontus Jansson	(1991-02-13) 13 February 1991	16	0	Leeds United
7	3MF	Sebastian Larsson (vice captain)	(1985-06-06) 6 June 1985	103	6	Hull City
8	3MF	Albin Ekdal	(1989-07-28) 28 July 1989	37	0	Hamburger SV
10	3MF	Emil Forsberg	(1991-10-23) 23 October 1991	39	6	RB Leipzig
13	3MF	Gustav Svensson	(1987-02-07) 7 February 1987	15	0	Seattle Sounders
15	3MF	Oscar Hiljemark	(1992-06-28) 28 June 1992	24	2	Genoa
17	3MF	Viktor Claesson	(1992-01-02) 2 January 1992	25	3	Krasnodar
19	3MF	Marcus Rohdén	(1991-05-11) 11 May 1991	12	1	Crotone
21	3MF	Jimmy Durmaz	(1989-03-22) 22 March 1989	46	3	Toulouse
9	4FW	Marcus Berg	(1986-08-17) 17 August 1986	60	18	Al Ain
11	4FW	John Guidetti	(1992-04-15) 15 April 1992	21	1	Alavés
20	4FW	Ola Toivonen	(1986-07-03) 3 July 1986	62	14	Toulouse
22	4FW	Isaac Kiese Thelin	(1992-06-24) 24 June 1992	23	2	Waasland-Beveren

Recent call-ups

The following 34 players have also been called up to the Sweden squad within the last twelve months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Jacob Rinne	(1993-06-20) 20 June 1993	2	0	AaB	v. Romania, 27 March 2018
GK	Peter Abrahamsson	(1988-07-18) 18 July 1988	1	0	BK Häcken	v. Denmark, 11 January 2018
GK	Pontus Dahlberg	(1999-01-21) 21 January 1999	1	0	IFK Göteborg	v. Denmark, 11 January 2018
GK	Andreas Linde	(1993-07-24) 24 July 1993	1	0	Molde FK	v. Denmark, 11 January 2018 WD
DF	Niklas Hult	(1990-02-13) 13 February 1990	7	0	AEK Athens	v. Romania, 27 March 2018
DF	Johan Larsson	(1990-05-05) 5 May 1990	6	0	Brøndby IF	v. Romania, 27 March 2018
DF	Anton Tinnerholm	(1991-02-26) 26 February 1991	9	0	New York City	v. Denmark, 11 January 2018
DF	Linus Wahlqvist	(1996-11-11) 11 November 1996	6	0	IFK Norrköping	v. Denmark, 11 January 2018
DF	Joakim Nilsson	(1994-02-06) 6 February 1994	4	0	IF Elfsborg	v. Denmark, 11 January 2018
DF	Franz Brorsson	(1996-01-30) 30 January 1996	2	0	Malmö FF	v. Denmark, 11 January 2018
DF	Sotirios Papagiannopoulos	(1990-09-05) 5 September 1990	2	0	Östersunds FK	v. Denmark, 11 January 2018
DF	Jacob Une Larsson	(1994-04-08) 8 April 1994	2	0	Djurgårdens IF	v. Denmark, 11 January 2018
DF	Joel Andersson	(1996-11-11) 11 November 1996	1	0	BK Häcken	v. Denmark, 11 January 2018
DF	Rasmus Lindkvist	(1990-05-16) 16 May 1990	1	0	AIK	v. Denmark, 11 January 2018
DF	Sebastian Holmén	(1992-04-29) 29 April 1992	4	0	Dynamo Moscow	v. Netherlands, 10 October 2017
MF	Alexander Fransson	(1994-04-02) 2 April 1994	6	0	Lausanne-Sport	v. Romania, 27 March 2018
MF	Ken Sema	(1993-09-30) 30 September 1993	5	0	Östersunds FK	v. Romania, 27 March 2018
MF	Oscar Lewicki	(1992-07-14) 14 July 1992	15	0	Malmö FF	v. Denmark, 11 January 2018
MF	Jiloan Hamad	(1990-11-06) 6 November 1990	8	0	Hammarby IF	v. Denmark, 11 January 2018
MF	Kerim Mrabti	(1994-05-20) 20 May 1994	3	0	Djurgårdens IF	v. Denmark, 11 January 2018
MF	Kristoffer Olsson	(1995-06-30) 30 June 1995	3	0	AIK	v. Denmark, 11 January 2018
MF	Magnus Eriksson	(1990-04-08) 8 April 1990	1	0	San Jose Earthquakes	v. Denmark, 11 January 2018 WD
MF	Robert Gojani	(1992-10-19) 19 October 1992	1	0	IF Elfsborg	v. Denmark, 11 January 2018
MF	Jesper Karlström	(1995-06-21) 21 June 1995	1	0	Djurgårdens IF	v. Denmark, 11 January 2018
MF	Erdal Rakip	(1996-02-13) 13 February 1996	0	0	Crystal Palace	v. Denmark, 11 January 2018 WD
MF	Simon Tibbling	(1994-09-07) 7 September 1994	0	0	Brøndby IF	v. Denmark, 11 January 2018 WD
MF	Jakob Johansson	(1990-06-21) 21 June 1990	15	1	AEK Athens	v. Italy, 13 November 2017
FW	Christoffer Nyman	(1992-10-05) 5 October 1992	10	1	Eintracht Braunschweig	v. Romania, 27 March 2018 WD
FW	David Moberg Karlsson	(1994-03-20) 20 March 1994	3	1	IFK Norrköping	v. Denmark, 11 January 2018
FW	Kalle Holmberg	(1993-03-03) 3 March 1993	2	1	IFK Norrköping	v. Denmark, 11 January 2018
FW	Gustaf Nilsson	(1997-05-23) 23 May 1997	2	1	Silkeborg IF	v. Denmark, 11 January 2018
FW	Jordan Larsson	(1997-06-20) 20 June 1997	2	0	IFK Norrköping	v. Denmark, 11 January 2018
FW	Carlos Strandberg	(1996-04-14) 14 April 1996	0	0	Malmö FF	v. Denmark, 11 January 2018 WD
FW	Samuel Armenteros	(1990-05-27) 27 May 1990	2	1	Portland Timbers	v. Belarus, 3 September 2017

Previous squads

FIFA World Cup

• World Cup 1934 squad
• World Cup 1938 squad
• World Cup 1950 squad
• World Cup 1958 squad
• World Cup 1970 squad
• World Cup 1974 squad
• World Cup 1978 squad
• World Cup 1990 squad
• World Cup 1994 squad
• World Cup 2002 squad
• World Cup 2006 squad
• World Cup 2018 squad

UEFA European Championship

• Euro 1992 squad
• Euro 2000 squad
• Euro 2004 squad
• Euro 2008 squad
• Euro 2012 squad
• Euro 2016 squad

Olympic Games

• Olympics 1908 squad
• Olympics 1912 squad
• Olympics 1920 squad
• Olympics 1924 squad
• Olympics 1936 squad
• Olympics 1948 squad
• Olympics 1952 squad

Coaching staff

Sweden's manager Janne Andersson.

As of 1 July 2017

Name Role Janne Andersson Manager Peter Wettergren Assistant manager Maths Elfvendal Goalkeeping coach Paul Balsom Performance manager Johan Sandberg Physiotherapist Lars Jacobsson Scout Tom Prahl Jonas Thern Lars Richt Team manager

Players with most caps and goals

Main article: List of Sweden international footballers

Updated as of 22 June 2016.

Top 10 most capped players

Anders Svensson is Sweden's most capped player of all time with 148 appearances for the national team.

Zlatan Ibrahimović is Sweden's best goalscorer of all time with 62 goals for the national team.

Players in bold text are still active with Sweden.

#	Player	Career	Caps	Goals
1	Anders Svensson	1999–2013	148	21
2	Thomas Ravelli	1981–1997	143	0
3	Andreas Isaksson	2002–2016	133	0
4	Kim Källström	2001–2016	131	16
5	Olof Mellberg	2000–2012	117	8
6	Zlatan Ibrahimović	2001–2016	116	62
	Roland Nilsson	1986–2000	116	1
8	Björn Nordqvist	1963–1978	115	0
9	Niclas Alexandersson	1993–2008	109	7
10	Henrik Larsson	1993–2009	106	37

Top 10 goalscorers

Players in bold text are still active with Sweden.

#	Player	Career	Goals	Caps
1	Zlatan Ibrahimović (list)	2001–2016	62	116
2	Sven Rydell	1923–1932	49	43
3	Gunnar Nordahl	1942–1948	43	33
4	Henrik Larsson	1993–2009	37	106
5	Gunnar Gren	1940–1958	32	57
6	Kennet Andersson	1990–2000	31	83
7	Marcus Allbäck	1999–2008	30	74
8	Martin Dahlin	1991–1997	29	60
9	Tomas Brolin	1990–1995	27	47
	Agne Simonsson	1957–1967	27	51

Records

All records updated as of 12 January 2017.

Age-related records

Age-related records of the Swedish national football team.

Oldest player

38 years, 1 month and 29 days – Thomas Ravelli (1–0 against Latvia on 11 October 1997)

Oldest outfield player

38 years and 20 days – Henrik Larsson (0–1 against Denmark on 10 October 2009)

Youngest debutante

17 years, 2 months and 11 days  – Gunnar Pleijel (5–2 against Finland on 22 October 1911)

Oldest debutante

34 years, 9 months and 1 day – Stendy Appeltoft (3–0 against Finland on 28 August 1955)

Longest national career

18 years, 1 month and 27 days – Gunnar Gren (from 29 August 1940 until 26 October 1958)

Oldest goalscorer

37 years, 11 months and 26 days – Gunnar Gren (two goals in a 4–4 draw against Denmark on 26 October 1958)

Youngest goalscorer

17 years, 3 months and 22 days – Alexander Isak (one goal in a 6–0 win against Slovakia on 12 January 2017)

Managers

Main article: Sweden national football team manager

Chairmen of the Selection Committee

• 1908 00000Ludvig Kornerup
• 1909–1911 Wilhelm Friberg
• 1912 00000John Ohlson
• 1912–1913 Ruben Gelbord
• 1914–1915 Hugo Levin
• 1916 00000Frey Svenson
• 1917–1920 Anton Johanson

• 1921–1936 John Pettersson
• 1937 00000Carl Linde
• 1938–1942 Gustaf Carlson
• 1942 00000Selection Committee
• 1943–1956 Rudolf Kock
• 1957–1961 Eric Persson

Head coaches

• 1962–1965 Lennart Nyman
• 1966–1970 Orvar Bergmark
• 1971–1979 Georg Ericson
• 1980–1985 Lars Arnesson
• 1986–1990 Olle Nordin
• 1990 00000Nisse Andersson

• 1991–1997 Tommy Svensson
• 1998–1999 Tommy Söderberg
• 2000–2004 Tommy Söderberg & Lars Lagerbäck
• 2004–2009 Lars Lagerbäck
• 2009–2016 Erik Hamrén
• 2016–present Janne Andersson

Notable captains

Main article: List of Sweden national football team captains

Björn Nordqvist is with 92 matches as team captain the Swedish player with most captaincies.

This is a list of captains who either have played 30 or more matches as team captain or have played a match as team captain in a major tournament (FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro and Olympic Games). Note that only players who started the match as captain are included in the statistics.

The order for this list is by most appearances as captain, then chronological order of first captaincy.

Updated as of 22 June 2016.

Player	First to last captaincy	Matches as captain	Major tournament(s)
Björn Nordqvist	1967–1978	92	2 matches in 1970 FIFA World Cup 1 match in 1974 FIFA World Cup 3 matches in 1978 FIFA World Cup
Zlatan Ibrahimović	2008–2016	58	3 matches in UEFA Euro 2012 3 matches in UEFA Euro 2016
Jonas Thern	1989–1997	55	1 match in 1990 FIFA World Cup 4 matches in UEFA Euro 1992 5 matches in 1994 FIFA World Cup
Ingemar Erlandsson	1981–1985	47	—
Patrik Andersson	1995–2002	41	2 matches in UEFA Euro 2000
Orvar Bergmark	1959–1965	38	—
Erik Nilsson	1947–1952	37	5 matches in 1950 FIFA World Cup 4 matches in 1952 Summer Olympics
Olof Mellberg	2002–2006	36	4 matches in UEFA Euro 2004 4 matches in 2006 FIFA World Cup
Sven Friberg	1920–1928	30	4 matches in 1924 Summer Olympics
Bengt Gustavsson	1953–1962	29	1 match in 1958 FIFA World Cup
Glenn Hysén	1987–1990	23	2 matches in 1990 FIFA World Cup
Roland Nilsson	1989–2000	22	2 matches in 1994 FIFA World Cup
Johan Mjällby	1998–2004	17	1 match in UEFA Euro 2000 4 matches in 2002 FIFA World Cup
Sven Jonasson	1935–1940	13	1 match in 1938 FIFA World Cup
Fredrik Ljungberg	2006–2008	13	3 matches in UEFA Euro 2008
Bo Larsson	1973–1974	10	5 matches in 1974 FIFA World Cup
Ragnar Wicksell	1914–1921	9	1 match in 1920 Summer Olympics
Birger Rosengren	1945–1948	9	4 matches in 1948 Summer Olympics
Hans Lindman	1908–1911	6	2 matches in 1908 Summer Olympics
Herman Myhrberg	1911–1912	6	2 matches in 1912 Summer Olympics
Bertil Nordenskjöld	1915–1920	6	2 matches in 1920 Summer Olympics
Victor Carlund	1933–1936	6	1 match in 1936 Summer Olympics
Nils Rosén	1934	6	2 matches in 1934 FIFA World Cup
Nils Liedholm	1958	5	5 matches in 1958 FIFA World Cup
Tore Keller	1934–1938	4	2 matches in 1938 FIFA World Cup
Tommy Svensson	1970	2	1 match in 1970 FIFA World Cup
Gustaf Carlson	1924	1	1 match in 1924 Summer Olympics

See also

• Football in Sweden
• Sweden women's national football team
• Sweden national under-23 football team
• Sweden national under-21 football team
• Sweden national under-20 football team
• Sweden national under-19 football team
• Sweden national under-18 football team (defunct)
• Sweden national under-17 football team
• Sweden national under-16 football team (defunct)
• Sweden national football B team (defunct)
• Sápmi football team
• Gotland official football team
• Denmark–Sweden football rivalry

External links

• National team statistics
• RSSSF archive of results 1908–
• RSSSF archive of most capped players and highest goalscorers
• RSSSF archive of coaches
• World Cup history at Planet World Cup
• National teams statistics at Bolletinen.se
• Details of all matches