Sweden

Sweden 2008 Home

Yellow and blue are the Swedish colours and both feature here, though the yellow is a bit grubby. So asymmetry with the Umbro diamonds and some slightly weird detailing on the lower back, but the camouflage pattern on the armpits make it. I’m not denying it is strange, it essentially makes you focus there, but it is quite nice looking. The most annoying thing is having the Umbro logo so high, so that numbers would be below that rather than central, but luckily this is just a replica so I don’t need to rant too much.

This design was used in 2008 for the European Championships (and the start of the following 2010 World Cup qualification) where Sweden beat Greece 2-0 but fell to a late David Villa goal to lose 2-1 to Spain and then slumped to a 2-0 defeat to the Russians to fall out at the first hurdle. 2010 World Cup qualification started with a disappointing draw to Albania but 2 draws against Portugal was more admirable. A slow start did cost them in the end though.

Regular qualifiers would be the best way to describe the men’s national side. They’ve qualified for the last 6 Euros in a row, escaping the group only once, and were at 3 of the last 5 World Cups, escaping the group every time (despite only 1 win in both 2002 and 2006!). They will also compete in the Nations League league A next season after getting promoted on goal difference over Russia (and comfortably ahead of Turkey). Their history is the truly impressive part though. 4^th place at the 1938 World Cup, 3^rd in 1950 and 1994 and 2^nd in their home World Cup in 1958, losing only to Brazil in the final. A 3^rd place in the Euros in 1992 despite having never previously qualified for the tournament is another notable success, as is their Olympic gold (1948) and two bronzes (1924 and 1952).

The women’s side is strong, as with the other Nordic nations, with three 3^rd places at World Cups and a runners-up in 2003. They also won the 1984 women’s Euros and have only not qualified for 2 of those competitions, with 3 runners-ups and 4 3^rd places. They also have 3 Algarve Cups to their name, though opposition is more variable in this scenario. The men’s youth sides have not managed to live up to the success off the senior side, with limited exposure to the World Cups or the Olympics. They aren’t regular qualifiers for their Euros, though reached 6 semi-finals and 2 finals (1 in) at the U21 Euros while also having a 3^rd place at the 2013 U17 euros and U17 world Cup. The women’s youth sides have done a little better, with 4 U19 championships, a World Cup quarter-final and the U17s were runners-up at the 2013 U17 Championship, though that was the only time they qualified.

Their futsal side has never qualified for a major tournament, though tend to be fairly competitive. They do take part in the annual Nordic Futsal Cup, winning the inaugural edition but otherwise being variable, with two 2nds, one 3^rd and a 4^th. Their women’s futsal team narrowly missed out on Euros qualification, dominating their prelim round but threw away a 2 goal lead against Croatia and drawing with Russia. They have only very rarely played beach soccer and notably have not won a game, though have only played 5.

Sweden might qualify for the 2022 World Cup, it would not be out of character and they did qualify fairly comfortably for the 2020 Euros. A slightly aging squad could be a concern though.