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Looking to place a bet on Sweden at the 2018 World Cup? You have come to the right place. This page provides a comprehensive wrap of all things Sweden for the World Cup of Soccer: result history, statistical analysis, future matches and most importantly, the best odds and lines from a variety of top online sportsbooks. Review tournament performance, plan for upcoming fixtures and place your wager with confidence right here.
Sweden’s World Cup 2022 Standings
Sweden is the third team in Group F, which also includes Germany, Mexico and the Korea Republic. Below you will find their current tournament standings, updated after every matchday.
Sweden’s Odds To Win The World Cup
Sweden is in a reasonably tough group, appearing alongside 2014 champions Germany, Mexico, who have progressed to the Round of 16 on six consecutive occasions, and South Korea. Sports Interaction rates them as a +9900 long shot to win the tournament, however, there are plenty of other markets in which to try your luck.
The biggest question to ask yourself when betting on the performance of the Swedes is whether or not they will make it to the second round. Sports Interaction has rated them almost level with the Mexicans in terms of their chances, which makes sense as neither side is likely to progress ahead of the Germans. If you think Sweden can qualify, +140 is on offer for them to reach the Round of 16. If not, -182 is available if you believe they will be eliminated from the group stage.
It is likely that the final group match between Mexico and Sweden will determine who goes home and who moves forward, as we like the chances of both teams losing to Germany and defeating Korea. Our pick is a Mexican victory in the final group game, therefore eliminating Sweden at the group stage. It will be very tight though, and we can’t wait to see how it all pans out!
Sweden’s Squad & Key Players
All teams must declare a 30 man squad for the World Cup by the middle of May, while the final 23 man squads don’t have to be finalized until the first week of June, just days prior to the tournament start date. We will update you when the team sheets are announced, but first, let’s take a look at some of the most important players in the Swedish team and who we think will play a big part in the competition.
Emil Forsberg (Winger)
Forsberg is one of the most talented players on the Swedish roster and can make a big impact from the wing. Voted the Swedish Midfielder of the Year in 2014, 2016 and 2017, the RB Leipzig man also led the Bundesliga in assists in 2016-17, leading to his inclusion in the German top division’s Team of the Season.
He has been in impressive form throughout the qualification period, scoring four goals for his country including the only goal in Sweden’s 2-1 loss to France.
Victor Lindelöf (Defender)
The young Swede was clearly recognized by Jose Mourinho after a successful stint at Portuguese Benfica. Now part of the setup at Manchester United, Lindelöf has mostly featured in cup games and also in Europe, although he will be one of the first to be thrown into the fray should Phil Jones go down with another injury. He started for Sweden in all three of the matches at Euro 2016 and is likely to play a big role in 2018.
The Coach (Janne Andersson)
Andersson has managed club teams in Sweden for the majority of his career, starting with Alerts IK back in 1988 and most recently IFK Norrkoping between 2011 and 2016. He became a hero in the Norrkoping region when he led his team to the 2015 league title, winning away at Malmo on the final day to secure their first championship since 1992.
After this success, Andersson went on to take over the Swedish coaching role, with the primary goal of returning Sweden to the World Cup. While the side finished second behind France in qualifying, a 1-0 aggregate victory over Italy was enough to see the Swedes advance.
Sweden’s World Cup 2022 Lineup
Sweden’s latest international was played against Denmark on January 11th, 2018, although several of the side’s elite players were unavailable due to club commitments. To get an idea of the likely Sweden lineup for the World Cup, we have taken a look at the roster that defeated Italy 1-0 in Stockholm on November 10th, 2017. The full lineup was as follows.
Starting Lineup (4-2-2-2)
Robin Olsen (Copenhagen) – Emil Krafth (Bologna), Victor Lindelof (Manchester United), Andreas Granqvist (Krasnodar), Ludwig Augustinsson (Werder Bremen) – Sebastian Larsson (Hull City), Albin Ekdal (Hamburger SV) – Viktor Claesson (Krasnodar), Emil Forsberg (RB Leipzig) – Marcus Berg (Al Ain), Ola Toivonen (Toulouse)
Reserves: M Rohden, K Sema, F Helander, I Thelin, G Svensson, J Johansson, M Olsson, KJ Johnsson, P Jansson, K Nordfeldt, J Larsson, J Guidetti.
Sweden’s World Cup History
It may come as a surprise to hear that Sweden has not qualified for the World Cup since 2006. The Blågult have a long and mostly successful international resume, although the last decade has seen them fail to qualify for the 2010 and 2014 tournament, plus exit the European Championships at the group stage in 2008, 2012 and 2016. In fact, Sweden failed to register a win in Euros for the first time since 2000 at the latest edition of the competition.
Sweden’s early years at the World Cup were definitely impressive for a country of its size. They entered their first tournament in 1934 and managed to knock out Argentina in the first round. While the Argentines did not contain a single member of their 1930 squad that reached the final, they were still strong and led twice in the match before Sweden advanced with a 3-2 win. The blue and yellows were then eliminated by Germany in the next round.
In 1938, their progress was aided by the late withdrawal of Austria and a quarter-final matchup against a Cuban side that had somehow knocked out Romania in the opening fixture. Their 8-0 drubbing of the Caribbean side saw them progress to their first semi-final, however, they were well beaten by Hungary 5-1.
1950 saw the World Cup move to Brazil and a new format was introduced for the tournament. Sweden progressed to the second round after a win over Italy and a draw with Paraguay in the initial group stage, although losses to Brazil and Uruguay in the final round saw them finish in third place.
Sweden didn’t qualify in 1954, although featured at the 1958 tournament as hosts. Their remarkable run of improvement continued as they finished in second place, featuring wins over Mexico, Hungary, the Soviet Union and West Germany on the way to the final against Brazil. Sweden led early after a fourth-minute goal by Nils Liedholm, however by the time they had scored a second they had conceded four times, and finished the game 5-2 losers.
The next 32 years featured mixed performances by the Swedes. The Scandinavians did not qualify for 1962, 1966, 1982 or 1986 tournaments, and only made it out of the group stage once, doing so in 1974. Sweden failed to win a match at both the 1978 and 1990 events, meaning that by the time the 1994 tournament in the USA came around, the Swedes had not won a World Cup match in twenty years.
Following a 2-2 draw against Cameroon in their opening match at the 1994 World Cup, fans could be forgiven for thinking Sweden’s mediocre form at the tournament would continue with matches against Russia and Brazil still to come. Yet a 3-1 win against the former Soviets and a 1-1 draw to one of the favourites saw Sweden into the Round of 16, and after seeing off Saudi Arabia and Romania, Sweden once again found themselves in the final four.
While Sweden was defeated by Brazil and ended up finishing third, this result is arguably their best in history considering the number of teams in the tournament.
Sweden made it to the Round of 16 in both the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, notably emerging from a group in Japan and South Korea that contained England, Nigeria and Argentina. They will be looking to reach the second round once more in 2018, although Germany and Mexico look to be the favourites in a strong Group F.
