Sweden

Sweden qualified for the 2026 World Cup without winning a single game in their UEFA qualifying group (Group B) — finishing bottom behind Switzerland, Kosovo and Slovenia — before winning both playoff matches under Graham Potter.

Viktor Gyökeres scored a hat-trick against Ukraine in the World Cup playoff semi-final and the late winner against Poland in the final; he was directly responsible for all five Sweden goals across the two-leg playoff.

Graham Potter spent seven years at Östersunds FK, guiding the Swedish club from the fourth tier to the Allsvenskan and a famous Europa League run; being appointed Sweden national coach in 2025 represents a full circle for the Englishman.

Alexander Isak became the most expensive Swedish footballer in history when Liverpool signed him from Newcastle for a British-record £125 million in September 2025 — only for him to suffer a broken leg in December before returning to fitness just in time for the World Cup.

Elliot Stroud plays for Mjällby AIF — the village club from tiny Hällevik on Sweden's south coast that won its first-ever Allsvenskan title in 2025 — and he became the first Mjällby player ever called up for a World Cup.

Sweden banned professionals from the national team for decades — but scrapped the rule for the home 1958 World Cup, recalled their Italy-based stars like AC Milan's Nils Liedholm, and rode them all the way to the final.

Zlatan Ibrahimović scored a national-record 62 goals for Sweden — yet never once at a World Cup, drawing complete blanks at both the 2002 and 2006 tournaments.