Sweden's men's football team finished last in their World Cup qualifying group with two points from six matches but still advances to playoffs in March. The draw takes place on Thursday, with possible opponents including Denmark or other strong teams. Expert Mikael Lustig hopes for Ukraine as an opponent.
The 2026 World Cup qualifying is over, and Sweden finished last in their group after a 1-1 draw at home against Slovenia. With a total of two points from six matches, head coach Graham Potter describes the result as "a small step forward, but an important one." Despite the weak qualifying, hopes for the World Cup in the USA, Canada, and Mexico remain alive through playoffs, thanks to their win in Nations League C-division last year.
Sweden is placed in seeding pot four and will face a team from pot one in the semifinal away on March 26. Possible opponents are Italy, Denmark, Turkey, or Ukraine. The draw takes place on Thursday. SVT Sport expert Mikael Lustig prefers Ukraine: "Ukraine is the team I most want Sweden to face, then Italy. Ukraine will be on neutral ground and it's the weakest team. Then it's Italy, they are pressured and haven't delivered under new head coach Gennaro Gattuso."
The semifinal winner advances to the final on March 31 against a team from pot two (Wales, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia) or three (Kosovo, Albania, Bosnia, Ireland). In total, 16 European teams compete for four World Cup spots. Sweden has failed to qualify for the last two majors, the 2022 World Cup and 2024 Euros, and another miss would mark three in a row for the first time since 1984-1988. Historically, the Blue-Yellows have succeeded in playoffs, like the win over Italy for the 2018 World Cup, but lost to Poland for 2022.
