Coach Tomasson fired while star-studded Sweden in crisis in World Cup qualifying

By Canadian Press on October 14, 2025.

Alexander Isak called it a “crisis situation.” Viktor Gyökeres summed it up as a “fiasco.”

Swedish soccer is reeling after a third straight loss in World Cup qualifying for its star-studded men’s national team — and the poor results cost coach Jon Dahl Tomasson his job.

Tomasson, a Dane hired last year as Sweden’s first foreign-born coach, vowed on Monday to fight for his job after a humiliating 1-0 home loss to Kosovo in Gothenburg that left the Swedes in last place in their World Cup qualifying group with one point from four games.

On Tuesday, the Swedish Football Association announced he was fired.

“The decision taken by the association’s board is based on the fact that the men’s national team has not delivered the results we had hoped for,” association head Simon Åström said. “There is still a chance of reaching the playoffs in March, and it is our responsibility to ensure that we have the best possible conditions for reaching the World Cup finals.”

Sweden finished the Kosovo loss with Isak and Gyökeres — the starting strikers for Liverpool and Arsenal, respectively, after transfers for a combined $250 million this summer — up front, Anthony Elanga of Newcastle on the left wing and Roony Bardghji of Barcelona on the right wing.

Other big-name players in Sweden’s team against Kosovo were center midfielder Lucas Bergvall of Tottenham and Victor Lindelof, who used to play for Manchester United and was now at Aston Villa.

Tomasson, a former Denmark striker who scored 52 goals for his country and won the Champions League with AC 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 “hasn’t moved forward.”

“It’s a bit of a crisis situation,” the Liverpool player said in post-match comments reported by Expressen. “I don’t know what we’re going to do. It’s too bad. There has been a negative development this spring and since the World Cup qualifiers started.”

Gyökeres told Viaplay: “It’s clear it’s a fiasco.”

Sweden is unlikely to secure a place in the World Cup playoffs by finishing in second place in a group headed by Switzerland. The team is, however, set to get in the playoffs by virtue of winning its Nations League group last year — albeit after dropping into the third of four tiers in European soccer.

Getting in by that route would likely mean a harder path in the playoffs, however.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Steve Douglas, The Associated Press