Sweden has been one of the worst countries in the World Cup qualifiers, only earning one point from a draw against Slovenia, losing the three other matches, including falling at home against Kosovo (0-1) and Switzerland (0-2) this week. That's despite having plenty of national talent, including strikers like Arsenal's Viktor Gyokeres and Liverpool's Alexander Isak.
As a result, head coach Jon Dahl Tomasson has been fired from the team. According to Sweden media, this is the first time that a head coach from Sweden has been fired before his contract ends. "The decision is based on the lack of results in the World Cup qualifiers", said the Swedish Football Association in a statement.
"There is still a chance of a playoff in March and our responsibility is to ensure that we have the best possible conditions to be able to reach a World Cup final. In this regard, we believe that new leadership is required in the form of a new national team manager".
"I would like to take this opportunity to thank Jon for this period. Jon has been professional in his relationship with the players, the leaders in the national team staff and with SvFF. It is always sad to part ways, but football is based on results and we have reached a point where results are not enough", said Football manager Kim Källström.
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As a player, Tomasson played as striker at clubs like Feyenoord, Newcastle, Milan, Stuttgart, and Villarreal, and also became the top goal scorer in Denmark's national team history. As a manager, he joined the Swedish team in February 2024, replacing Jane 'Janne' Anderson, who took the team to quarter-finals in Russia 2018, but failed to qualify for Qatar 2022 nor UEFA Euro 2024.
Now, their chances of finishing as group runner-up, which would grant them access to play-offs, are extremely limited. Sweden can only count on reaching this second round of World Cup qualifiers through the four spots reserved to the four best group leaders in Nations League 2024/25 that didn't qualify through the group stage, and things look good for them... despite the international ridicule.