Sweden are finally back at the World Cup. One of the more consistent teams in the tournaments’ early history, the Swedes hadn’t qualified since 2006. But they’ve booked their ticket to the 2018 World Cup, managing to finish second in a group that also featured France and the Netherlands.
Fewer famous names are included in the squad this time round, but don’t underestimate the Scandinavians. They may be without their all-time top goalscorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but many of the players that have been called up play in some of Europe’s top leagues and as we can see on the Norwegian betting odds pages – the likelihood of the team’s great performance is quite high.
Sweden will have some tough opposition in the group stage, but expect them to put on a tough challenge against all the teams they’ll be playing.
– Star players: Emil Forsberg, Andreas Granqvist, Victor Nilsson-Lindelof
– FootballCoin stars:
John Guidetti (Celta Vigo) 4,645.60 seasonal points (Pro), 2,190.00 points (Easy)
Emil Forsberg (RB Leipzig) 5,231.20 seasonal points (Pro), 1,845.50 point (Easy)
– Coach: Janne Andersson
– Group: F
– Group fixtures:
Mon June 18: Sweden – South Korea, Nizhny Novgorod, 1pm
Sat June 23: Germany – Sweden, Sochi, 4pm
Wed June 27: Mexico – Sweden, Ekaterinburg, 3pm
– Prediction: Sweden have been drawn in one of the toughest groups at the World Cup. But football fans should not forget that the team is in Russia at the expense of the Netherlands team. That in itself should tell you about how strong the Swedes are at the moment.
Sweden are likely to be able to move to the first Knockout round of the tournament, where they’re expected to stop.
– Squad:
Goalkeepers: Robin Olsen (FC Copenhagen/Denmark), Karl-Johan Johnsson (Guingamp/France), Kristoffer Nordfeldt (Swansea City/Wales)
Defenders: Mikael Lustig (Celtic/Scotland), Victor Nilsson-Lindelof (Manchester United/England), Andreas Granqvist (Krasnodar/Russia), Martin Olsson (Swansea City/Wales), Ludwig Augustinsson (Werder Bremen/Germany), Filip Helander (Bologna/Italy), Pontus Jansson (Leeds United/England), Emil Krafth (Bologna/Italy)
Midfielders: Emil Forsberg (RB Leipzig/Germany), Albin Ekdal (Hamburg/ Germany), Viktor Claesson (Krasnodar/Russia), Gustav Svensson (Seattle Sounders/USA), Sebastian Larsson (Hull City/England), Jimmy Durmaz (Toulouse/France), Oscar Hiljemark (Genoa/Italy), Marcus Rohden (Crotone/Italy)
Forwards: Marcus Berg (Al Ain/UAE), Ola Toivonen (Toulouse/France), John Guidetti (Celta Vigo/Spain), Isaac Kiese-Thelin (Waasland-Beveren/Belgium)
– World Cup history: 1934, 1938 (Fourth place), 1950 (Third place), 1958 (Runners-Up), 1970, 1974, 1978, 1990, 1994 (Third place), 2002, 2006, 2018
