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4 days ago
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This was no fairytale arrival for Graham Potter, who must take Sweden to next summer’s World Cup via the most difficult route possible. A weakened side were well beaten by Switzerland, a country whose aptitude they should be aiming to at least match, ultimately paying for frailties at both ends. Disastrous defending brought the soft spot kick from which Granit Xhaka put the home side back in front on the hour, undoing an impressive recovery with Benjamin Nygren cancelling out Breel Embolo’s goal.
Dan Ndoye, a threat throughout, deservedly scored another and the replacement Johan Manzambi added late gloss. There were few flourishes from a clearly rusty Alexander Isak on his introduction from the bench. It meant Switzerland will, in the fair assumption that they do not lose by six goals in Kosovo on Tuesday, compete on the highest stage once again and continue to be a benchmark for Potter’s adopted country.
Potter’s quick reimmersion into his new employers’ culture had extended to giving the vast majority of his pre-match press conference in Swedish. It was no surprise, then, that he could be seen belting out the national anthem before kick-off, a fact appreciated by the band of around 200 away fans. They had hardly travelled in numbers but then Sweden, with only a point to show from their Group B endeavours, had offered little recent encouragement. A playoff spot is already nailed on due to their brighter fortunes in the Nations League, although defeat in Geneva would confirm their place among the unseeded contenders.
Old-fashioned collective spirit, in the character of Sweden’s more successful sides, would be needed here because Potter had a hand tied behind his back. Viktor Gyökeres, Dejan Kulusevski and Lucas Bergvall were among his offensively-minded absentees while Isak was only deemed ready for the bench despite Potter’s good-humoured attempt to trick the Swiss media into believing he could start.
With attacking options so limited, Potter needed his defence to show the benefit of a week’s bonding in southern Spain. Instead he was dealt a nightmare start that spoke eloquently of the soft underbelly Sweden developed in necessitating his arrival. There had been little to admire beyond gentle sparring until Ndoye, the Nottingham Forest winger, made ground too easily with a burst down the right and cut back smartly for Embolo. The finish, taken first time, was impressive but Embolo should not have been given space to execute.
At that point it was hard to see anything beyond a damage limitation exercise for Potter against a Swiss team that, balanced and supremely tuned by Murat Yakin, have swept all before them in an otherwise competitive Group B. But he had spoken about instilling a resilience, a togetherness, in players who had taken a battering over the past eight months and Sweden gradually dug in. Silvan Widmer fluffed a decent headed chance to double the hosts’ lead and, having offered nothing forward, Potter’s charges applied punishment soon after the half-hour.
Potter had spent plenty of the half urging Sweden to make use of Anthony Elanga. They had rarely managed to locate him but now, after finding half a yard, he was able to chip a cross over from near the byline. It was half-cleared by Ricardo Rodriguez to Nygren, who took a touch before scoring via the hand of a possibly unsighted Gregor Kobel. Sweden’s first shot of the Potter era had paid rich dividends.
It was the first goal Switzerland had conceded in this qualifying competition and the fact seemed to befuddle them. Now Sweden had the wind in their sails, their previous hesitancy metamorphosing into confident passing triangles and Potter waving them forwards. As half-time neared they should have gone ahead when Alexander Bernhardsson, nominally their right winger, bustled down the middle and was denied by Kobel’s block. In the space of 45 minutes, Potter had watched his team stand taller.
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Then he saw them self-combust. Sweden had enjoyed slightly the better of the second half’s opening exchanges but were horribly exposed when Gabriel Gudmundsson, recently on as a substitute, sold Viktor Johansson short with a woeful backpass. Embolo reached the ball first and, under the keeper’s half-challenge, hit the ground. The subsequent penalty award, backed up by VAR, seemed harsh as Johansson had gone little to instigate contact. Xhaka was not about to worry: Switzerland were quickly put back on their way.
Johansson could soon feel a little better, denying Embolo one on one, and Potter decided it was time to send for Isak. It made no difference: Switzerland have been around long enough to lock down games like this and the Liverpool striker was barely granted a kick. Ndoye still had plenty of room for expression and ran through to shoot under Johansson before Manzambi squeezed home at the very end, illustrating the scale of Potter’s task.
