Less than five years ago, Graham Potter was widely considered to be hot property. The 50-year-old managed to transform Brighton and Hove Albion into an exciting, free-flowing Premier League outfit and had successfully guided the relatively unfancied Seagulls into the top half of the table.
As is commonplace with overachieving bosses in the top flight, Potter was being coveted by several high-profile outfits and was widely viewed as a potential successor to England boss Gareth Southgate. Unfortunately, the former Swansea and Ostersunds gaffer’s career stalled at both Chelsea and West Ham as he struggled to recapture the magic of the AMEX.
In October 2025, he was appointed as manager of Sweden following the departure of Jon Dahl-Tomasson, accepting the role on an initial short-term basis. He didn’t have long to make an impact with back-to-back World Cup 2026 qualifiers taking place at the start of November, and his arrival failed to have the desired effect on the nation’s undoubtedly talented squad.
Having finished below both Switzerland and Kosovo in Group B, Sweden must now negotiate the European play-offs, with the end goal of qualifying for next summer’s 2026 FIFA World Cup. Of the 16 teams involved in the play-offs, Potter’s side undoubtedly has one of the toughest paths, with Ukraine and potentially Poland standing in their way, and the bookmakers appear to agree that their chances of progression are fairly slim.
The betting sites also expect top seeds Italy, Denmark, Turkey and Poland to prevail, with Sweden viewed as an unlikely contender to cause an upset. However, as Casino.com have suggested in their breakdown of the European play-offs, the majority of the pressure is undoubtedly on the Azzurri, who have endured a World Cup drought and this could impact their performance levels. Boss Gennaro Gattuso is unlikely to survive if the Italians miss out on yet another major event.
Nevertheless, Potter has a wealth of talent at his disposal, and there is plenty of expectation surrounding this group of players. Sweden were one of many ‘bigger’ nations that failed to qualify for the 2022 edition of the tournament, losing to Poland in the play-offs, and supporters will be hoping that history does not repeat itself in March 2026. They have failed to make it through to three of the last four tournaments, and another absence would be viewed as an abject failure, especially considering the expanded format.
A 4-1 hammering at Stade de Geneve was followed by a fairly uninspiring 1-1 draw with Slovenia. Potter was hoping for a smoother transition into his first role in international management, although he now has time to plan for the play-offs and hope that key players can avoid picking up injuries during the winter months.
Potter has potentially suffered from his predecessor’s stubbornness, with Tomasson seemingly leaving his strikers isolated, and his constant tinkering often resulting in baffling line-ups. Confidence in the camp has been at a low ebb, and their poor form may have been further impacted by fitness issues. Players such as Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres have been performing to a reasonable level domestically, yet they’ve been unable to recreate it on the international stage.
Alongside Isak and Gyokeres, Potter can also call upon Anthony Elanga, Dejan Kulusevski, Lucas Bergvall and Victor Lindelof. Although they can no longer call upon the iconic Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the squad should be strong enough to qualify for international tournaments, and if Potter can find a way to get this group of players to work together, then they will give themselves a realistic chance of booking their ticket for next summer’s showdown in the US, Canada and Mexico.
Ukraine have understandably been galvanised by off-field matters, and could be dangerous opposition for Potter’s men. They beat Belgium in the Nations League back in March and did the double over Iceland during the qualification period. Poland are expected to overcome Albania, and following an uncertain few years, they have finally found some stability. They managed to take points off the Netherlands during qualifying and possess the evergreen Robert Lewandowski and the vastly underrated Piotr Zielinski.
Sweden can boast a positive head-to-head record with Poland; however, memories of their 2-0 defeat at the Silesian Stadium may still linger, with the aforementioned Lewandowski and Zielinski both getting their names on the scoresheet that day.
Nevertheless, avoiding the favourites, Italy can be viewed as a positive, whereas both Turkey and Romania could have been tricky opponents in Path 3.
Potter’s advantage is that he speaks the language, knows the culture, and has the majority of supporters on his side. His successful spell at Ostersunds will give him a significant edge in his quest to restore some pride and qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
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