Sweden are the most confusing side at World Cup 2026. Just ask Anthony Elanga

To get back to Dallas from Dallas Stadium — as it is known throughout World Cup 2026 — you have to drive past Six Flags Over Texas, an appropriately enormous theme park just off the highway, featuring no fewer than 14 huge rollercoasters. And as Sweden supporters passed by after their 1-1 draw with Japan, it was an opportune moment to reflect on the rollercoaster ride of their World Cup experience.

This is a side who didn’t win any of their six qualification games, but were entered into the UEFA playoffs based upon their performance in Nations League C, then lucked out when their ‘away’ semi-final playoff game against Ukraine had to be held in a neutral venue, and they also won the coin toss to have the final at home to Poland.

After winning both those matches impressively, at the World Cup itself they’ve managed to win 5-1 over Tunisia, then lose 5-1 to the Netherlands, before sealing their passage into the knockout stage with a disciplined performance against an excellent Japan side. A heavy win, a heavy loss, a fair-enough draw.

Sweden are, put bluntly, really confusing. Especially to winger Anthony Elanga. He slumped to the ground at full-time and beat the ground in frustration. He didn’t realise 1-1 was enough. “Bless him,” said his coach Graham Potter. “We did tell him.”

Before this match in Dallas, Potter said that neither of the 5-1s were 5-1 games — Sweden weren’t four goals better than Tunisia and weren’t four goals worse than the Netherlands, but football results are sometimes misleading. Tunisia’s tactical approach was so baffling — a narrow 5-3-2, from a squad packed with wingers — that Sabri Lamouchi was sacked immediately afterwards. Herve Renard, the inevitable firefighter replacement, hasn’t been able to salvage anything from their campaign.

That victory probably offered false hope for Sweden; not just in the performance overall, but in the way Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres teed each other up for goals. These are two regular strikers for top Premier League clubs, but the reality is that, over recent years, they’ve rarely looked like a partnership on the same wavelength and they’ve shown little link-up play in the two games since.

The Netherlands clash was fascinating. It was all about systems: the Netherlands battering Sweden down the flanks early on, going 2-0 up, and then Potter switching from 5-3-2 to 5-4-1 and changing the game completely. Sweden roared back into the game, should have scored much earlier than they did, and were unlucky to lose by such a heavy margin.

And then came Japan. With Swedish fans understandably outnumbered by Japanese supporters in the stands — after all, even in March it seemed deeply unlikely their side would be at this World Cup — it felt like an away game. And Sweden played an underdog approach very intelligently.

Potter has led Sweden to the knockouts, a remarkable feat given their record before he arrived (Photo: Cheng Min/Xinhua via Getty Images)

Potter took a very clear approach. He worked backwards from Japan: knowing that Hajime Moriyasu would use a 3-4-3, Potter deployed that formation too. This worked nicely with Anthony Elanga, bright as a substitute and on the scoresheet against the Netherlands, coming in down the right. More surprisingly, it meant wing-back Gabriel Gudmundsson redeployed in the back three, with captain Victor Lindelof moving into the midfield role he played towards the end of Aston Villa’s Europa League run. There was also a change in goal, with Jacob Zetterstrom in for Kristoffer Nordfeldt, who is probably better in terms of sweeping and distribution.

Mirroring Japan’s system made life simple for Sweden’s players; they knew their responsibilities, they understand how and when to press, and they engaged much higher up than against the Netherlands. Equally importantly, they had numbers down the flanks, and weren’t overwhelmed in those areas. They defended well, three against three, and even the injury suffered to Isak Hien — their best in those individual defensive duels — didn’t knock them out of of their stride, with Lindelof returning to defence.

“In the back five, we felt we had to deal with their (attacking) five in the last line, with a bit more of full-back profile than a centre-back profile, because of the movement of their No 10s,” Potter said of his surprise selection decisions.

“We were a little bit open against the Netherlands, and sometimes that comes from (having to make) too many defensive decisions. We’re still working out, to be honest, how to use Alex and Viktor in and out of possession. It made sense for us, engaging in that way, but it’s still not easy because although you’ve got a direct opponent, there’s still somebody on your shoulder. The numbers match, but we still have to make sure the distances are good and we’re compact as a team.”

They were undone by a beautifully neat — and typically Japanese — goal rounded off by Daizen Maede, but Elanga’s brilliant strike out of nothing rescued a draw. Four points means they are assured of a knockout place. Afterwards, Potter was asked whether he would have shaken hands on a draw at half-time. “Shaken hands? I’d have bitten your hand off.”

This, in truth, is Potter and Sweden’s target achieved. No one goes into a World Cup knockout match without wanting to progress; But this is really beyond anything could have hoped for in the disastrous days of Jon Dahl Tomasson, and indeed upon Potter’s appointment in October. A footballing nation seemingly at their lowest ebb are in the World Cup knockout stage.

As things stand, such is the nature of being a best third-placed side, Sweden don’t know their next opponents, or where they’ll be playing, or what date the game will be. The rollercoaster ride has reached a pitch-black tunnel.