Graham Potter has expressed his excitement to “dust off my cowboy hat” now that he has accomplished his short-term objective of leading Sweden to the World Cup.
The English coach was appointed by Sweden in October following a disappointing qualifying campaign that saw the team secure just two draws and suffer six defeats across eight group matches.
– Italy misses out on a third consecutive World Cup after shootout loss
– Türkiye wins playoff, setting up a clash against USMNT in the World Cup
Thanks to their success in winning a lowly Nations League group the prior year, Sweden earned a second chance to qualify through the playoffs. They seized this opportunity, defeating Ukraine in the semifinals on Thursday, followed by a thrilling 3-2 victory over Poland in Stockholm on Tuesday.
In the World Cup, Sweden will compete in Group F against Tunisia, the Netherlands, and Japan in Dallas.
Potter described the experience as “incredible,” saying, “I’m going to have a beer and then think, ‘Wow, we’re going to Dallas.’ I’ll definitely need to dust off my cowboy hat!”
Viktor Gyökeres scored the critical goal for Sweden in the 88th minute against Poland, who had twice equalized and appeared poised to win as the game approached its final moments.
“We weren’t perfect, but does it really matter?” said Potter. “We’re going to the World Cup, baby. Wow. I can’t even analyze it.”
After a challenging six years in the Premier League with Brighton, Chelsea, and then West Ham, Potter has now embarked on his first international coaching venture with Sweden.
This is a significant moment for him, as it was in Sweden where he began his coaching career back in 2011 with Ostersund, a small team he led from the fourth tier to the top division.
Now, he’s on his way to the World Cup.
Potter will look to have some of his key players back who missed the playoffs due to injuries, including Liverpool’s Alexander Isak and Tottenham’s Dejan Kulusevski.