World Cup 2026: From last-chance saloon to World Cup revival for Sweden manager Graham Potter
The return to full fitness of Liverpool striker Alexander Isak is of course a major positive and how the £125m player linked up well with Arsenal frontman Viktor Gyokeres will be a joy for Potter to see.The pair both assisted each other for their goals which will delight their manager.That is an expensive yet, formidable attack for the country back on international football's biggest stage after missing out on the 2022 tournament in Qatar and they can give any nation problems if they're firing.Potter must blend the rest of the squad together and, given only Victor Lindelof has played in this competition before - goalkeeper Kristoffer Nordfelt was an unused substitute in Russia in 2018 - they will need guidance if they are to beat the odds and go further than many are expecting them to.But given this format it means they are already well-placed to reach the last 32.Of course, there will be obviously tougher tests than Tunisia, who are ranked 56th in the world. That will come against Netherlands on Saturday (18:00 BST)."We just focus on what we can do, we focus on our performances," Potter added in his post-match press conference."It doesn't matter what people think from the outside or opinions."That's the beauty of the World Cup everyone has predictions and forecasts but we have to focus on our job and how we play as a team."We will meet another top team at the weekend who are one of the favourites for the competition."Sweden's best performance in this tournament came 68 years ago, when as hosts they finished as runners-up to a Pele-inspired Brazil.The manager of that 1958 team was another Englishman, George Raynor.Sweden finished third in 1994 when the competition was staged in the USA.Good omens for Potter? It is certainly looking more positive for the cowboy hat-wearing manager.
