Sweden Are Wasting a Golden Generation: Here's How

Sweden Are Wasting a Golden Generation: Here's How

Sweden is a historic footballing nation; they finished runner-up in the 1958 World Cup, have 3 Olympic medals, and boast some of the most iconic footballing legends of all time.

And right now, they are currently in what many would describe as a 'golden generation'.

Sweden have a plethora of players plying their trade for top clubs across Europe. Alex Isak, Gyokeres, Bergvall, Svensson, Hien, Lindelof… I could go on.

But you really wouldn't think it with the way they have been playing. In fact, you must have been living under a rock if you haven't seen the unrivalled disappointment that has been their World Cup qualifying campaign.

Currently sitting at the bottom of their group with only one point from the first four games, it looks almost certain that they will be watching the festival of football from home next summer.

But really, if we are honest, that should not be the case. So why has it gone so wrong for Sweden, and why are they failing to make the most of the quality they currently have?

The Striker Problem

How on earth can Sweden have a striker problem with Isak AND Gyokeres in the same team… Well, I think everybody is asking the exact same question. But it's true, they do have an issue.

Not with the quality of the players in question; that is obvious. But when we take into account what the summer had in store for both, it makes sense why they are struggling.

Alexander Isak & Viktor Gyokeres vs Switzerland:

0 Goals/Assists
0 Shots on Goal
21 Possessions Lost
1 Big Chance Missed
3 Fouls

LEFT AND RIGHT CHEEK 🥶🥶🥶 pic.twitter.com/ToZFikeh1v

— Hater Central (@TheHateCentral) October 10, 2025

Both of the prolific forwards had transfer sagas which massively disrupted their pre-season schedules.

Gyokeres, of course, had a dramatic end to his Sporting career, as he felt he wasn't being allowed to leave under the agreed conditions and therefore decided to not show up to training at Sporting.

Turns out it was just a 'gentleman's agreement', and Gyokeres actually had no substance to his claims, as the club were never tied into anything… Nice one, Viktor, mate.

And it goes without mentioning the absolute shambles that was Alexander Isak's forced move to Liverpool, where the striker essentially just went AWOL, like a spoilt child, and refused to come back until his move was granted.

There's a little bit of a theme there, isn't there? That being that neither player can really be considered fully fit and match sharp in the wake of their summer shenanigans.

And both have rightly come in for criticism from the Swedish fans because of it.

It's not exactly a secret that scoring goals wins you games, so when you've got a pair of strikers who scored a combined 81 goals last season, now not performing at the required standard in such an important competition such as World Cup qualifying, and all because of their own negligence, they deserve to be crucified for it (okay, maybe that's a bit extreme).

Tactical Chaos Leads to Tomasson's Sacking

Literally as I'm writing this, Sweden have just sacked John Dahl Tomasson in the wake of that Kosovo defeat yesterday… Which is ironic, because my next section is about how chaotic and inept the tactical outlook for Sweden has been. Piling on the misery, sorry in advance, John…

BREAKING: Sweden have sacked Jon Dahl Tomasson as head coach after a disappointing World Cup qualification campaign 🚨🇸🇪 pic.twitter.com/EkGc2yVZJv

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) October 14, 2025

The structure has been broken for a good while now.

Sweden look to play high, aiming to dominate possession with sustained attacks and win the ball back in dangerous areas. The issue is, in Sweden's case, this has been leaving massive holes for opposition teams to exploit at will.

The risky possession and attacking football were absolutely torn apart by Kosovo (first time anyone has ever written that sentence, I'm sure), who sat in a nice compact shape and exploited the creative struggles that Sweden have had to create overloads when they could in the final third.

The struggles may well have been a case of just not picking the right players. Against Kosovo, both Anthony Elanga, who came on in the second half to create four chances for his side, and Hugo Larsson, the Frankfurt midfielder who would undoubtedly bring both creativity and structure to the midfield, were on the bench.

And now, as I mentioned earlier, all of that has led to Tomasson's sacking… Which really isn't a shock, to be honest.

Hope isn't All Lost… Somehow

With all of that doom and gloom out of the way, it's time to give a little bit of hope to the Swedish audience.

Considering how horrifically the qualifying campaign has gone, it would be expected that any glimmer of hope at qualifying is forlorn, but that isn't the case.

There is still the slimmest of chances that Sweden will make it into the playoff phase through the groups, which would see them face off against the other 11 group runners-up.

All trolling aside Sweden is not out of World Cup yet!

Sweden topped their Nations League Group C1 with 16 points, earning promotion. This positions them for potential World Cup playoff spots if they don't finish top 2 in qualifiers. With 3 matches left, they're not out yet pic.twitter.com/qTgboqj0Np

— Football Fans (@footballfantcs) October 13, 2025

They can also make it into these playoffs through their Nations League performance, as the four best-ranked group winners also make it into the playoffs, offering a backdoor route. They finished top of their group with 16 points, so they would likely get a playoff spot.

But for a nation like Sweden, it just really shouldn't be coming down to that now, should it?

Something needs to change, and with the hunt for a new manager underway, that could very well be soon.

But unfortunately for the Swedes, it looks like that change is going to come too late for them to realise their World Cup dream.

And, if we are being honest, they really don't deserve to realise it either.