Graham Potter’s season ended as it began, with a 3-0 defeat. And there the similarities may have ended, given that the victorious teams were Sunderland and France. Eliezer Mayenda, Daniel Ballard and Wilson Isidor, Potter’s tormentors in August, are rarely compared with Kylian Mbappe and Bradley Barcola, who ended Sweden’s World Cup.
He has gone from the Stadium of Light to the MetLife Stadium. Sacked by West Ham, a saviour for Sweden, there has been a redemptive feel to it. The eventual verdict must be that he is among those culpable for West Ham’s relegation, even if his own participation in their campaign was curtailed by a September firing. He got five games with the Hammers in the Premier League, four with Sweden in the World Cup.
He ended it looking more comfortable in his skin and confident in his demeanour than he ever appeared at Chelsea and West Ham. It also finished with Sweden being utterly outclassed by France. The consolation prize may be that they lost to the eventual World Cup winners. “We had to be perfect and even if we were I am not sure if that would have been enough, if I am brutally honest,” said Potter. “I personally haven’t seen a better team.”
Sweden may be a more forgiving environment than east or west London – though his axed predecessor Jon Dahl Tomasson might disagree – but Potter could be spared a brutal inquest. It is a perilous time to be a manager of a European side returning home. Steve Clarke and Ronald Koeman are gone, falling on their own swords. Julian Nagelsmann may fall on someone else’s. Potter’s Sweden were porous at the back in the United States but he has enhanced his reputation in the last few months. He will survive.
Realism dictated Sweden were underdogs against France. “You look at the careers and CVs of the French team and compare them to ours,” said Potter. The magnificence of Michael Olise and Mbappe meant they would have demolished many a side. And, in the wider picture, Potter has taken Sweden further than felt feasible.
Or, indeed, fair. They propped up a pool in qualifying, winless with two points. The nonsensical Nations League rules gave them a reprieve in the form of a play-off. Potter, and Viktor Gyokeres, capitalised, his hat-trick against Ukraine and 88th-minute winner against Poland booking them a transatlantic flight.
They peaked early, the opening 5-1 thrashing of Tunisia the first time Sweden had scored more than four in a World Cup match since 1938. Another slice of history followed as they lost 5-1 to the Netherlands; no one had done the 5-1 double in consecutive World Cup games before. A draw with Japan was laudable. A third-placed finish – another backdoor route of advancing – meant they met France, and their match.
“I have no complaints with the players,” Potter added. “I said to them after the game that it is no disgrace to lose to France. For us, this is a foundation to go forward. I am proud of what we have done so far.”
It is evident he has a bond with his charges, which rarely felt the case at Chelsea and West Ham. Perhaps his confidence in himself and belief in them was reflected in his bold decision to play 4-4-2 against France. Certainly, Potter is a manager of many ideas, not all of them good. He got his team wrong at the start against the Dutch. Fielding captain Victor Lindelof in midfield against Japan, however, was a qualified success.
But the context means it is hard to brand his tactics in the MetLife a mistake. “You can play four or three or five [in midfield] but the quality of the opponent is the quality of the opponent,” shrugged Potter. And the quality of Sweden is disproportionately distributed in a top-heavy team; with Alexander Isak and Gyokeres and Anthony Elanga, his three best players may all be forwards, and he played them all. It would have been intriguing where and how Potter would have accommodated Dejan Kulusevski if fit.
Unlike many a Swedish side of old, however, there was rather less talent at the back. Sweden conceded 10 goals in four games, a tally that reflects their shortcomings as well as a demanding fixture list. Potter was pleased the veteran Lindelof said he wants to continue his international career; Sweden nevertheless need a formula to keep clean sheets.
Potter talked, too, of the youth of much of a squad in which Yasin Ayari and Lucas Bergvall are two with considerable potential to improve. “We are a young, developing team,” he said. “We have had a great tournament to grow and learn. To recover after the Netherlands and get a point against Japan was fantastic and we have to learn from that.”
For now, Potter is at a stage where Sweden seem on an upward curve. Time will tell if this is part of progress or an illusion of it. But as his season of rejection and renewal, when he was cast aside in his own country and found a new home in his adopted one concluded, Potter had an air of contentment.
