Alexander Isak called it a “crisis situation.” Victor Dieukeres described it as a “fiasco”.
Swedish football is reeling after a third straight World Cup qualifying defeat for its star-studded men's team, with the coach's future appearing to hang in the balance.
Jon Dahl Thomasson, the Dane hired last year as Sweden's first foreign-born coach, vowed to fight for his job on Monday after a humiliating 1-0 home defeat to Kosovo in Gothenburg left the Swedes bottom of their World Cup qualifying group with one point from four games.
Asked if he had reached a point where he could no longer lead the team, Thomasson told Swedish broadcaster Viaplay: “No. I have a contract with the SVFF (Swedish Football Association) and we are in the middle of the campaign. But of course it's not enough. It's a terrible result.”
Swedish newspaper Expressen reported that the federation will hold an extraordinary meeting on Tuesday to, among other things, discuss Thomasson's future.
After the defeat to Kosovo, Kim Källström – a former Swedish midfielder who is now the federation's director of football – said: “We need to look at where we are and what path we are going to take.” He did not give a timeline for any potential decision on Thomasson.
Sweden finished the game with Isak and Gyöckeres – starting forwards for Liverpool and Arsenal respectively after $250 million transfers this summer – up front, Newcastle's Anthony Elanga on the left flank and Barcelona's Rooney Bargy on the right flank.
Other notable players in the Sweden team against Kosovo were central midfielder Lukas Bergvall of Tottenham and Victor Lindelof, who had previously played for Manchester United and was now at Aston Villa.
Despite the team's star strikers, Tomasson said: “We've completely forgotten how to score goals and I don't know why.”
Thomasson, a former Denmark striker who scored 52 goals for his country and won the Champions League with Milan, has been widely criticized for failing to establish a clear attacking identity with the players at his disposal during the 18 games he has been in charge since becoming Sweden coach in February 2024.
Isak said the team “made no progress.”
“It's a bit of a crisis situation,” the Liverpool player said in post-match comments published by Expressen. “I don't know what we're going to do. It's very bad. There have been negative changes this spring and since the start of the World Cup qualifiers.”
Dieukeres told Viaplay: “Obviously this is a fiasco.”
Sweden is unlikely to secure a place in the World Cup knockout stages after finishing second in a group led by Switzerland. However, the team are set to reach the knockout stages thanks to winning their Nations League group last year, albeit after being relegated to the third of four tiers in European football.
However, going this route would likely mean a tougher road to the playoffs.
“Of course we wanted second place – that would be the best solution, the best chance, maybe you also get a home game (in the playoffs),” Tomasson said. “Now that might be difficult.”
Asked after the Kosovo game how he would sleep, Thomasson replied: “I won’t sleep.”
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