Potter to don cowboy hat following Sweden’s qualification for World Cup
Graham Potter mentioned he will “dust off my cowboy hat” after accomplishing his immediate goal of leading Sweden to the World Cup.
The English manager was appointed by Sweden in October following the national team’s disappointing qualifying campaign, which featured two draws and six losses across eight group matches.
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The Swedes were granted a second opportunity to qualify through the playoffs due to their victory in a low-ranked Nations League group the previous year, and they capitalized on it, defeating Ukraine in the semifinals on Thursday and then Poland 3-2 in Stockholm on Tuesday.
Sweden will face Tunisia, the Netherlands, and then Japan in Dallas in Group F at the World Cup.
Potter expressed that it was an “incredible” experience, stating: “I’m going to have a beer and then think, ‘Wow, we’re going to Dallas.’ I’ll have to dust off my cowboy hat, won’t I?”
Viktor GyΓΆkeres scored Sweden’s crucial goal in the 88th minute against Poland, which had twice equalized and appeared more likely to win as the match approached its conclusion.
“We weren’t perfect, but who cares?” Potter remarked. “We’re going to the World Cup, baby. Wow. Yeah, I can’t analyze it.”
After a challenging six years in the Premier League with Brighton, Chelsea, and then West Ham, Potter embarked on his first role in international football with Sweden.
This was the nation where his coaching career truly began in 2011 at Ostersund, a lesser-known team that he led from the fourth tier to Sweden’s top league.
Now he is heading to the World Cup.
Potter will aim to recover some of his key players who were sidelined during the playoffs due to injuries, including Liverpool’s Alexander Isak and Tottenham’s Dejan Kulusevski.
