Nothing suggests that Sweden will beat France in the Round of 16.
But Swedish national teams have beaten the odds before.
– Something completely extra is required, says France killer Ola Toivonen.
Sweden go into Tuesday’s round of 16 as big underdogs. France has played in two consecutive World Cup finals – of which they won one, in 2018 – and Sweden’s opponents are seen as one of the World Cup’s gold favorites this year as well.
– It will be really tough of course, but at the same time Sweden has nothing to lose. All the pressure is on France and you have to go out and believe in it fully, says former national team player John Guidetti.
– It is true that France wins 99 times out of 100 – on Tuesday it must be the hundredth time.
And Guidetti himself has experience of lashing out against France in particular.
“Better at every position”
In the playoff for the 2015 U21 European Championship, which Sweden then went on to win, Sweden was in a bad place after losing 2–0 in Le Mans. The return in Halmstad was won by Sweden 4–1 after a dramatic resolution.
– We were completely without a chance away but had such a damn good group and enjoyed being with each other, so we decided that “this won’t end”. I hope the national team now feels the same, even if France is better in every position.
The national team has talked about its good cohesion, could that be the key?
– Absolutely, a super key. One must be prepared to die for each other and love the task.
John Guidetti cheers in the U21 drama 2014. Photo: PETTER ARVIDSON / BILDBYRÅN
Goal from own half
Three years after the U21 national team’s bang, it was time for the “real” national team to repeat the feat. Then Guidetti was replaced at Friends Arena when Sweden turned around and won in the qualifiers for the WC 2018.
The decisive goal was scored with ten seconds left in the match – when Ola Toivonen made it 2-1 from his own half.
– It was a fantastic moment that I am quite proud of, Toivonen tells Sportbladet.
As for Sweden’s chances of beating France again on Tuesday, Toivonen is pessimistic, but not completely down.
– I have never seen a French national team as good as it is now. They are super favourites, but with a bit of skill and luck along the way, there is hope. We’ve seen over the years that Sweden can get good results against very good opposition, but it takes something extra.
A shot from your own half, for example.
Requires pointless defensive
The most important thing to get a result in the round of 16 is to be defensive, believes Toivonen.
– It must be spot-free. But France will get their opportunities regardless and then it also applies that we have a goalkeeper who saves the balls he is supposed to – and a little more. Then we also have to dare to threaten when we get the chance.
During his time in the national team, Toivonen most often formed an attacking pair together with the pair horse Marcus Berg. Now Sweden has a new, slightly more famous duo at the front in Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyökeres.
“Two world stars”
Which duo is the best?
– You can say that they are, given the club addresses they have and all the goals they have scored in the national team. It’s just a tip of the hat, it’s very funny that we have two such world stars in the team.
Firma Toivonen/Berg made it the farthest to the quarter-finals in the WC (2018).
On the way there, Toivonen shot from his own half and the national team roared against France.
Isak/Gyökeres has not done that.
Than.
Ola Toivonen celebrates after scoring 2–1 against France in the 2017 World Cup qualifiers. Photo: LINNEA RHEBORG / BILDBYRÅN
Do you feel like all hope is lost? Get inspiration from these feats on the men’s side:
► 1948: Olympic gold. 22 goals ahead and just three behind in four games led Sweden all the way to gold during the Olympics in London.
► 1950: WC bronze. Led by the Englishman George Raynor, Sweden took the bronze in Brazil – despite the fact that the Swedish national team chose not to use professional players such as Gunnar Nordahl, Gunnar Gren and Nils Liedholm. The big hero was goalkeeper Kalle Andersson, who after the championship was nicknamed “Rio-Kalle”.
► 1958: WC silver. The Frenchman Just Fontaine was top scorer with his 13 goals, but Sweden still finished ahead of France in the WC at home. In the semi-final, Kurre Hamrin scored his classic goal to make it 3–1 against West Germany, but in the final Sweden fell 5–2, when a 17-year-old Pelé became the tip of the iceberg for Brazil.
► 1969: Sweden–France 2–0, World Cup qualifier. Ove Kindvall scored both goals in the decisive qualifying match at home against France – for which he was awarded the Bragdguldet in the same year.
► 1983: Sweden–Italy 2–0, EC qualifier. Italy came to Ullevi as reigning world champions but had to leave Gothenburg with their tails between their legs. A Blåvitt marked national team won after goals from Håkan Sandberg and Glenn Strömberg.
► 1992: Sweden–England 2–1, EC. David Platt gave England the lead in the first half but after the break Sweden came back. Jan Eriksson and Tomas Brolin’s goals meant 2–1 and that Sweden came first in the group in the EC at home.
► 1994: WC bronze. Thomas Ravelli’s penalty saves, Brolin’s pirouettes, Kennet Andersson and Martin Dahlin’s header, Karin Boye and Pontiac Silverdoom.
► 2002: Sweden–Argentina 1–1, WC. Sweden ended up in the Group of Death in the WC 2002, but after three matches it was clear that the Swedes survived. In the end, it didn’t matter that Argentine Hernán Crespo equalized with just minutes left after Anders Svensson’s free kick in the final group stage match. Sweden won the group – gold favorite Argentina was knocked out.
► 2004: Sweden–Italy 1–1, EC. At a 1-0 deficit with five minutes left in the match, Zlatan Ibrahimović scored one of his classic goals. The Taekwando heel sailed in over Christian Vieiri and meant that in the last match Sweden and Denmark could share the points to both advance.
► 2012: Germany–Sweden 4–4, WC qualifier. After 56 minutes, it led Germany, who would become world champions barely two years later, with 4-0 at home against Sweden. Just over half an hour later, the deficit had been picked up – when Rasmus Elm in the 93rd minute established “The feat in Berlin”.
► 2015: U21 European Championship gold. John Guidetti, Victor Nilsson Lindelöf and company miraculously made it to the U21 EC through a playoff turnaround against France and once in the championship the success continued. After an overrun against Denmark in the semifinals, Portugal awaited in the final, where Patrik Carlgren became a hero with his saves in the penalty shootout.
► 2017: Sweden–France 2–1, WC qualifier. Ola Toivonen scored with seconds left from his own half – which put Sweden in the driver’s seat in the qualifying group for the 2018 World Cup.
► 2017: Sweden–Italy 1–0, WC playoff. Unlikely hero of the match Jakob Johansson made it 1-0 at home with his first touch of the ball, which meant that Sweden went into the return leg at San Siro with an advantage. Johansson pulled the cruciate ligament there, but his effort was still decisive as Sweden fought to a 0-0 draw in Italy – and a WC place in 2018.
► 2026: Sweden–France, WC?
The national team
