Sweden national football team

Sweden

Nickname(s)	Blågult (The Blue-Yellow)
Association	Svenska Fotbollförbundet (SvFF)
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Erik Hamrén
Captain	Zlatan Ibrahimović
Most caps	Anders Svensson (148)
Top scorer	Zlatan Ibrahimović (62)
Home stadium	Friends Arena
FIFA code	SWE
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	36 (5 May 2016)
Highest	2 (November 1994)
Lowest	45 (March 2015, October 2015 – November 2015)
Elo ranking
Current	28 (18 February 2016)
Highest	2 (June 1950)
Lowest	49 (September 1980)
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	11 (First in 1934)
Best result	Runners-up: 1958
European Championship
Appearances	5 (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 (Swedish: Sveriges herrlandslag i fotboll) 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 Stockholms län and the team is led by Erik Hamrén.

Sweden made their first World Cup appearance in 1934. Sweden has made eleven World Cup appearances and five 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.

Traditionally, Sweden are rivals with neighbours Denmark, Norway and Finland but through the years a rivalry with England has also developed. Sweden's captain is Zlatan Ibrahimović with Andreas Isaksson as vice captain.

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.

Early history

The team in 1911.

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.

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.

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 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.

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. 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. 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, Finland, 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-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.

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.

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 quarterfinals 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 70s, 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. 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, after 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. When Sweden in the final qualifying round lost her match against Czechoslovakia gone 1–2 while Portugal unexpectedly won 1–0 away against one group of West Germany and took second place in the group. It was West Germany's first loss ever in a World Cup qualifier and the passport was meant for the Swedish team. Lars "Laban" Arnesson was head coach 1980–1986 and did not manage to take Sweden to either the World Cup or European Championship finals when he chose to step down in 1986. Olle Nordin succeeded Lars Arnesson. Losses continued initially by Olle Nordin's admission as coach, and Sweden failed to qualify to the UEFA Euro 1988 in West Germany. Sweden did not participate in a single championship between 1978 and 1990. 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. It was so far the only time that Sweden has failed to score points in a World Cup finals, where they participated. 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 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.

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 in the extreme heat and humidity of Dallas, where the game started at the hottest time of day- 4:00 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. 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 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 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.

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 both the European Championships in England 1996 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 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.

2002 World Cup

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.

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 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. Zlatan 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 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.

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 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 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 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.^[1][2]

In their Euro 2012 opening match Sweden lost against host nation Ukraine with 2–1.^[3] In their second group match Sweden lost to England with 3–2, thus eliminating them from the tournament.^[4] 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.^[5]

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.^[6]

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.^[7]

UEFA Euro 2016 and 2018 FIFA World Cup

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.^[8] 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.^[9] 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. Group G

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Austria	10	9	1	0	22	5	+17	28	Qualify for final tournament
2	Russia	10	6	2	2	21	5	+16	20
3	Sweden	10	5	3	2	15	9	+6	18	Advance to play-offs
4	Montenegro	10	3	2	5	10	13	−3	11
5	Liechtenstein	10	1	2	7	2	26	−24	5
6	Moldova	10	0	2	8	4	16	−12	2

Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers

On 25 July 2015, Sweden were drawn in Group A of 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification.

Swedish supporters during the World Cup 2006 in Dortmund, Germany

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 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.

Kit history

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1970 Home

1974 Home

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1990 Home

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2000 Home

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2008 Home

2014 Home

Kit provider	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 4 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 Swedbank Stadion in Malmö, are used for the national team.

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup Sweden in the 1958 FIFA World Cup Final. Sweden playing against Germany in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. 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-final 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 To be determined 2022 Total Best: Runners-up 11/20 46 16 13 17 74 69 119 73 19 27 240 112 *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 Swedish supporters during UEFA Euro 2008. Sweden at the UEFA Euro 2012. UEFA European Championship record UEFA European Championship qualification 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-final 4th 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-final 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 Qualified 12 6 4 2 19 12 2020 To be determined Total Best: Semi-final 5/14 17 5 5 7 24 21 104 55 23 26 174 105 *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-final 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 1984 1988[10] Quarter-final 6th 4 2 1 1 7 5 8 6 1 1 13 6 Total 1 title 8/17 25 13 2 10 76 50 10 6 2 2 15 12 *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. 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 SFF 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 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 1947 FBF 40 years Winners (1): 1947 1954 SFF 50 years Winners (1): 1954 1957 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 team record The following table shows Sweden's all-time international record.[11] The abandoned match against Denmark on 2 June 2007 here counts as a draw. Statistics updated as of 29 March 2016. 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 3 1 1 1 6 6 0  Australia 5 1 2 2 2 2 0  Austria 36 13 6 17 55 55 0  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 14 5 2 7 30 22 +8  Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 1 0 0 4 2 +2  Botswana 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1  Brazil 15 2 3 10 17 35 −18  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 3 2 1 0 6 2 +4  Colombia 2 0 2 0 2 2 0  Costa Rica 2 1 0 1 2 2 0  Croatia 4 1 0 3 4 5 −1  Cuba 1 1 0 0 8 0 +8  Cyprus 6 5 1 0 19 3 +16  Czech Republic 3 1 2 0 6 5 +1  Czechoslovakia 16 3 4 9 21 36 −15  Denmark 106 46 20 40 187 175 +12  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 23 7 9 7 31 35 −4 England Amateurs 3 0 0 3 2 18 −16  Estonia 16 14 2 0 53 16 +37  Faroe Islands 3 2 1 0 4 1 +3  Finland 88 67 11 10 295 95 +200  France 19 5 5 9 18 26 −8  Germany 24 9 5 10 44 49 −5 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 15 11 2 2 35 15 +20  Iran 1 1 0 0 3 1 +2  Israel 12 7 4 1 26 9 +17  Italy 22 6 6 10 24 27 −3  Ivory Coast 2 1 0 1 2 1 +1  Jamaica 2 1 1 0 2 1 +1  Japan 5 1 3 1 7 7 0  Jordan 1 0 1 0 0 0 0  Kazakhstan 2 2 0 0 3 0 +3  Latvia 17 11 4 2 54 12 +42  Liechtenstein 4 4 0 0 10 1 +9  Lithuania 5 5 0 0 22 3 +19  Luxembourg 4 3 1 0 7 1 +6  Macedonia 3 3 0 0 4 1 +3  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 7 7 0 0 20 3 +17  Montenegro 3 2 1 0 6 3 +3  Netherlands 23 8 5 10 47 44 +3  Nigeria 2 2 0 0 5 2 +3  North Korea 3 1 2 0 6 2 +4  Northern Ireland 7 3 1 3 7 10 −3  Norway 106 60 22 24 276 145 +131  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 17 6 6 5 26 18 +8  Qatar 2 1 1 0 3 2 +1  Qatar U23 1 1 0 0 5 0 +5  Republic of Ireland 10 5 2 3 16 13 +3  Romania 9 4 3 2 20 10 +10  Russia 8 3 3 2 12 9 +5  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 2 1 0 1 2 3 −1  Singapore 1 1 0 0 5 0 +5  Slovakia 4 2 2 0 4 1 +3  Slovenia 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1  South Africa 2 1 0 1 3 1 +2 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 10 2 4 4 11 12 –1  Ukraine 4 1 1 2 3 4 −1  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 999 492 215 292 2030 1338 +692 *Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks. 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.[12] 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) Results and fixtures 2015 Sweden  v  Ivory Coast 15 January 2015 Friendly Sweden  2–0  Ivory Coast Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates 21:30 UTC+4 Mårtensson  65' Rohdén  86' Report Stadium: Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium Attendance: 300 Referee: Yacoub Al Hamadi (United Arab Emirates) Sweden  v  Finland 19 January 2015 Friendly Sweden  0–1  Finland Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates 22:30 UTC+4 Report Riski  63' Stadium: Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium Attendance: 100 Referee: Omar Al Ali (United Arab Emirates) Moldova  v  Sweden 27 March 2015 Euro 2016 Q Group G Moldova  0–2  Sweden Chișinău, Moldova 21:45 UTC+2 Report Ibrahimović  46', 84' (pen.) Stadium: Zimbru Stadium Attendance: 10,375 Referee: Ivan Bebek (Croatia) Sweden  v  Iran 31 March 2015 Friendly Sweden  3–1  Iran Solna, Sweden UTC+2 Ibrahimović  11' Berg  21' Toivonen  89' Report Nekounam  24' (pen.) Stadium: Friends Arena Attendance: 33,773 Referee: Serdar Gözübüyük (Netherlands) Norway  v  Sweden 8 June 2015 Friendly Norway  0–0  Sweden Oslo, Norway UTC+2 Report Stadium: Ullevaal Stadion Attendance: 26,659 Referee: Anthony Taylor (England) Sweden  v  Montenegro 14 June 2015 Euro 2016 Q Group G Sweden  3–1  Montenegro Solna, Sweden 20:45 UTC+2 Berg  37' Ibrahimović  40', 44' Report Damjanović  64' (pen.) Stadium: Friends Arena Attendance: 32,224 Referee: Hüseyin Göçek (Turkey) Russia  v  Sweden 5 September 2015 Euro 2016 Q Group G Russia  1–0  Sweden Moscow, Russia 19:00 UTC+3 Dzyuba  38' Report Stadium: Otkrytiye Arena Attendance: 43,768 Referee: Mark Clattenburg (England) Sweden  v  Austria 8 September 2015 Euro 2016 Q Group G Sweden  1–4  Austria Solna, Sweden 20:45 UTC+2 Ibrahimović  90+1' Report Alaba  9' (pen.) Harnik  38', 88' Janko  77' Stadium: Friends Arena Attendance: 48,355 Referee: Carlos Velasco Carballo (Spain) Liechtenstein  v  Sweden 9 October 2015 Euro 2016 Q Group G Liechtenstein  0–2  Sweden Vaduz, Liechtenstein 20:45 UTC+2 Report Berg  18' Ibrahimović  55' Stadium: Rheinpark Stadion Attendance: 4,740 Referee: Liran Liany (Israel) Sweden  v  Moldova 12 October 2015 Euro 2016 Q Group G Sweden  2–0  Moldova Solna, Sweden 18:00 UTC+2 Ibrahimović  23' Zengin  47' Report Stadium: Friends Arena Attendance: 25,351 Referee: Luca Banti (Italy) Sweden  v  Denmark 14 November 2015 Euro 2016 Q Play-offs Sweden  2–1  Denmark Solna, Sweden 20:45 UTC+1 Forsberg  45' Ibrahimović  50' (pen.) Report Jørgensen  80' Stadium: Friends Arena Attendance: 49,053 Referee: Nicola Rizzoli (Italy) Denmark  v  Sweden 17 November 2015 Euro 2016 Q Play-offs Denmark  2–2  Sweden Copenhagen, Denmark 20:45 UTC+1 Y. Poulsen  82' Vestergaard  90+1' Report Ibrahimović  19', 76' Stadium: Parken Stadium Attendance: 36,051 Referee: Martin Atkinson (England) 2016 Sweden  v  Estonia 6 January 2016 Friendly Sweden  1–1  Estonia Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates 19:45 UTC+4 Ishak  70' Report Prosa  56' Stadium: Armed Forces Stadium Attendance: 100 Referee: Ahmad Salem Khalfan (United Arab Emirates) Finland  v  Sweden 10 January 2016 Friendly Finland  0–3  Sweden Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates 18:45 UTC+4 Report Salomonsson  45+1' (pen.) Hallberg  46' Kujović  59' Stadium: Armed Forces Stadium Attendance: 50 Referee: Abdullah Al Ajel (United Arab Emirates) Turkey  v  Sweden 24 March 2016 Friendly Turkey  2–1  Sweden Antalya, Turkey 20:45 UTC+2 Tosun  32', 81' Report Granqvist  74' Stadium: New Antalya Stadium Attendance: 33,000 Referee: Danny Makkelie (Netherlands) Sweden  v  Czech Republic 29 March 2016 Friendly Sweden  1–1  Czech Republic Solna, Sweden 20:30 UTC+2 Berg  14' Report Vydra  26' Stadium: Friends Arena Attendance: 18,475 Referee: Bas Nijhuis (Netherlands) Sweden  v  Slovenia 30 May 2016 Friendly Sweden  v  Slovenia Malmö, Sweden 19:30 UTC+2 Stadium: Swedbank Stadion Sweden  v  Wales 5 June 2016 Friendly Sweden  v  Wales Solna, Sweden 16:00 UTC+2 Stadium: Friends Arena Republic of Ireland  v  Sweden 13 June 2016 Euro 2016 Group E Republic of Ireland  v  Sweden Saint-Denis, France 18:00 UTC+2 Stadium: Stade de France Italy  v  Sweden 17 June 2016 Euro 2016 Group E Italy  v  Sweden Toulouse, France 15:00 UTC+2 Stadium: Stadium Municipal Sweden  v  Belgium 22 June 2016 Euro 2016 Group E Sweden  v  Belgium Nice, France 21:00 UTC+2 Stadium: Allianz Riviera Sweden  v  Netherlands 6 September 2016 2018 World Cup Q Group A Sweden  v  Netherlands Solna, Sweden 20:45 UTC+2 Stadium: Friends Arena Luxembourg  v  Sweden 7 October 2016 2018 World Cup Q Group A Luxembourg  v  Sweden Luxembourg City, Luxembourg 20:45 UTC+2 Stadium: Stade Josy Barthel Sweden  v  Bulgaria 10 October 2016 2018 World Cup Q Group A Sweden  v  Bulgaria Solna, Sweden 20:45 UTC+2 Stadium: Friends Arena France  v  Sweden 13 November 2016 2018 World Cup Q Group A France  v  Sweden Saint-Denis, France 20:45 UTC+1 Stadium: Stade de France Players Current squad The following 24 players were called up for the friendly matches against Turkey on 24 March 2016 and against the Czech Republic on 29 March 2016.[13] Caps and goals updated as of 29 March 2016 after the match against Czech Republic. 0#0 Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club 1 GK Andreas Isaksson (vice captain) 3 October 1981 128 0 Kasımpaşa 12 GK Robin Olsen 8 January 1990 3 0 Copenhagen 23 GK Johannes Hopf 16 June 1987 0 0 Gençlerbirliği 2 DF Mikael Lustig 13 December 1986 50 2 Celtic 3 DF Erik Johansson 30 December 1988 8 0 Copenhagen 4 DF Andreas Granqvist 16 April 1985 50 3 Krasnodar 5 DF Martin Olsson 17 May 1988 34 5 Norwich City 14 DF Victor Lindelöf 17 July 1994 2 0 Benfica 15 DF Alexander Milošević 30 January 1992 5 0 Hannover 96 17 DF Ludwig Augustinsson 21 April 1994 3 0 Copenhagen 24 DF Emil Salomonsson 28 April 1989 6 1 IFK Göteborg 6 MF Emil Forsberg 23 October 1991 15 1 RB Leipzig 7 MF Sebastian Larsson 6 June 1985 82 6 Sunderland 8 MF Albin Ekdal 28 July 1989 21 0 Hamburger SV 9 MF Kim Källström 24 August 1982 127 16 Grasshopper 13 MF Oscar Hiljemark 28 June 1992 9 1 Palermo 16 MF Pontus Wernbloom 25 June 1986 50 2 CSKA Moscow 18 MF Oscar Lewicki 14 July 1992 9 0 Malmö FF 21 MF Jimmy Durmaz 22 March 1989 30 2 Olympiacos 22 MF Erkan Zengin 5 August 1985 19 3 Trabzonspor 10 FW Zlatan Ibrahimović (captain) 3 October 1981 112 62 Paris Saint-Germain 11 FW Marcus Berg 17 August 1986 37 10 Panathinaikos 19 FW Emir Kujović 22 June 1988 3 1 IFK Norrköping 20 FW John Guidetti 15 April 1992 7 0 Celta Vigo 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 Karl-Johan Johnsson 28 January 1990 3 0 Randers FC v.  Finland, 10 January 2016 GK Patrik Carlgren 8 January 1992 1 0 AIK v.  Finland, 10 January 2016 GK Jacob Rinne 20 June 1993 1 0 Örebro SK v.  Finland, 10 January 2016 GK Kristoffer Nordfeldt 23 June 1989 5 0 Swansea City v.  Moldova, 12 October 2015 DF Anton Tinnerholm 26 February 1991 6 0 Malmö FF v.  Finland, 10 January 2016 DF Sebastian Holmén 29 April 1992 4 0 Dynamo Moscow v.  Finland, 10 January 2016 DF Emil Bergström 19 May 1993 3 0 Rubin Kazan v.  Finland, 10 January 2016 DF Pa Konate 25 April 1994 2 0 Malmö FF v.  Finland, 10 January 2016 DF Adam Lundqvist 20 March 1994 2 0 IF Elfsborg v.  Finland, 10 January 2016 DF Linus Wahlqvist 11 November 1996 2 0 IFK Norrköping v.  Finland, 10 January 2016 DF Joakim Nilsson 6 February 1994 1 0 IF Elfsborg v.  Finland, 10 January 2016 DF Mikael Antonsson 31 May 1981 28 0 Copenhagen v.  Denmark, 17 November 2015 ^WD DF Pierre Bengtsson 12 April 1988 24 0 Mainz 05 v.  Denmark, 17 November 2015 DF Filip Helander 22 April 1993 0 0 Hellas Verona v.  Denmark, 17 November 2015 DF Jonas Olsson 10 March 1983 25 1 West Bromwich Albion v.  Austria, 8 September 2015 DF Oscar Wendt 24 October 1985 25 0 Borussia Mönchengladbach v.  Austria, 8 September 2015 DF Per Nilsson 15 September 1982 16 0 Copenhagen v.  Montenegro, 14 June 2015 DF Pontus Jansson 13 February 1991 7 0 Torino v.  Montenegro, 14 June 2015 ^WD DF Markus Holgersson 16 April 1985 1 0 Anorthosis Famagusta v.  Montenegro, 14 June 2015 ^WD MF Sebastian Eriksson 31 January 1989 7 0 IFK Göteborg v.  Finland, 10 January 2016 MF Viktor Claesson 2 January 1992 6 1 IF Elfsborg v.  Finland, 10 January 2016 MF Gustav Svensson 7 February 1987 6 0 Guangzhou R&F v.  Finland, 10 January 2016 MF Marcus Rohdén 11 May 1991 5 1 IF Elfsborg v.  Finland, 10 January 2016 MF Nicklas Bärkroth 19 January 1992 4 0 IFK Norrköping v.  Finland, 10 January 2016 MF Melker Hallberg 20 October 1995 2 1 Hammarby IF v.  Finland, 10 January 2016 MF Alexander Fransson 2 April 1994 2 0 Basel v.  Finland, 10 January 2016 MF Kerim Mrabti 20 May 1994 1 0 Djurgårdens IF v.  Finland, 10 January 2016 MF Kristoffer Olsson 30 June 1995 0 0 FC Midtjylland v.  Finland, 10 January 2016 ^WD MF Abdul Khalili 7 June 1992 1 0 Mersin İdmanyurdu v.  Denmark, 17 November 2015 FW Mikael Ishak 31 March 1993 4 1 Randers FC v.  Finland, 10 January 2016 FW Christoffer Nyman 5 October 1992 4 0 IFK Norrköping v.  Finland, 10 January 2016 FW Gustav Engvall 29 April 1996 2 0 IFK Göteborg v.  Finland, 10 January 2016 FW Ola Toivonen 3 July 1986 45 9 Sunderland v.  Denmark, 17 November 2015 FW Isaac Kiese Thelin 24 June 1992 7 0 Bordeaux v.  Moldova, 12 October 2015 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 Olympic Games Olympics 1908 squad Olympics 1912 squad Olympics 1920 squad Olympics 1924 squad Olympics 1936 squad Olympics 1948 squad Olympics 1952 squad Olympics 1988 squad UEFA European Championship Euro 1992 squad Euro 2000 squad Euro 2004 squad Euro 2008 squad Euro 2012 squad Coaching staff Manager Erik Hamrén Goalkeeping coach Lars Eriksson Players' manager Marcus Allbäck Team manager Lars Richt Team doctor Leif Swärd Anders Valentin Players with most caps and goals Updated as of 29 March 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 so far. 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 2002–0000 128 0 4 Kim Källström 2001–0000 127 16 5 Olof Mellberg 2000–2012 117 8 6 Roland Nilsson 1986–2000 116 1 7 Björn Nordqvist 1963–1978 115 0 8 Zlatan Ibrahimović 2001–0000 112 62 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) 2001–0000 62 112 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 19 November 2013. Age-related records Age-related records of the Swedish national football team.[14] 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 18 years and 1 day – Erik Dahlström (two goals in a 7–1 win against Finland on 27 June 1912) Managers 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– 0000Erik Hamrén Notable 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.[15][16] The order for this list is by most appearances as captain, then chronological order of first captaincy. Updated as of 29 March 2016. Player First to latest 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 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 Zlatan Ibrahimović 2008–2016 54 3 matches in UEFA Euro 2012 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 References "December date for EURO finals draw in Kyiv". UEFA. 3 October 2011. "EURO draw throws up fascinating group tests". UEFA. 2 December 2011. "Euro 2012: Erik Hamren laments Swedish loss". 12 June 2012. "Euro 2012: England Eliminate Sweden". 16 June 2012. "World Cup qualifiers: Sweden fightback stuns Germany". BBC. 16 October 2012. "Europe Sweden 2:1 Austria". FIFA. 11 October 2013. "Ronaldo hat-trick takes Portugal past Sweden". UEFA. 19 November 2013. "Ibrahimović pleased with Sweden point". UEFA. 9 September 2014. "Hamrén lauds Durmaz and Sweden's new boys". UEFA. 13 October 2014. The matches in this tournament are not counted as official internationals by the Swedish FA. "Landskamper 1908–2012" (in Swedish). SFS-Bolletinen. Retrieved 1 June 2012. "Sweden: Fixtures and Results" (in Swedish). FIFA. Retrieved 15 January 2016. "24 spelare till marsmatcherna" (in Swedish). Svenskfotboll. 15 March 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2016. "Henke blir äldste utespelaren" (in Swedish). Fotbollskanalen. Retrieved 19 August 2012. "Från Alexandersson till Öberg – Här är Sveriges alla lagkaptener" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. Retrieved 20 October 2013. "Sweden at EU Football". EU Football. Retrieved 20 October 2013. 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