Potter proud as Sweden embrace underdog tag after sneaking into World Cup knockouts

ARLINGTON, June 26 — Graham Potter said today that his Sweden team will be underdogs no matter who they face after sneaking into the World Cup knockout rounds. 

Sweden grabbed a place in the last 32 following a 1-1 draw with Japan in Texas to advance as one of the best third-placed finishers.

Sweden thrashed Tunisia 5-1, then lost to the Netherlands by the same scoreline, before giving Japan a fright at the home of the Dallas Cowboys.

It remains to be confirmed who they will play next and where, but France, Norway and Germany are all possibilities.

“Whoever we meet it’s going be a top team, we know that. That’s the World Cup, the challenge we have,” said the English coach.

“So we’re obviously looking forward to whoever we meet. I think we’ll be underdog in the game, of course, and where we come from, and what we’ve done.

“But it’s just nice for us to be there, and we’ll be ready, and we’ll compete, and we’ll try our best,” added Potter, whose side needed a playoff to reach the World Cup in North America.

“We have to probably recover the players first and make sure that physically we’re in a good place for whoever we play.

“We’ve got to be on our toes, I guess, in terms of logistics.” — AFP