Sweden appoints ex-Chelsea manager Graham Potter as new coach

The Swedish Football Association said on Monday that ex-Chelsea manager Graham Potter has been appointed as national coach after Jon Dahl Tomasson was sacked last week following three consecutive defeats in World Cup qualifying.

Sweden terminated Tomasson’s contract on October 14 after his team managed just one point in the first four matches of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

The Swedish Football Association said Potter, who was sacked by Premier League club West Ham in September, would be tasked with turning around a team featuring star strikers Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres to qualify for the finals in the US, Canada and Mexico.

“The aim is to create the optimal conditions to reach the World Cup in the summer of 2026,” the Swedish Football Association said in a statement.

The FA said Potter’s contract covered the current qualifying period, with games against Switzerland and Slovenia in November, as well as a possible play-off in March.

The contract would be automatically extended until the World Cup final itself if Sweden qualifies.

«I am very humbled by this assignment, but also incredibly inspired. Sweden has fantastic players who perform week after week in the best competitions in the world,» said 50-year-old Potter.

Despite Liverpool striker Isak and Arsenal’s £73m Gyokeres combining for £125m ($168m) up front, Sweden have failed to even score in their last three games and are bottom of Group B.

Potter managed Swedish team Ostersund FK between 2011 and 2018, taking them to Sweden’s top league.

He has since managed Swansea City, Brighton and Hove Albion, Chelsea and West Ham.

He was once regarded as one of English football’s greatest coaching talents, but was sacked by Chelsea in April 2023 after the team’s form took a dip.

This was followed by a difficult nine-month stay at West Ham.

Published on October 20, 2025