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

Sweden coach Jon Dahl Tomasson was fired on Tuesday after overseeing a woeful World Cup qualifying campaign in which he failed to get the best out of a team filled with players from Europe's leading clubs.

Tomasson, a former Denmark striker hired last year as Sweden’s first foreign-born coach, lost his job a day after a humiliating 1-0 home loss to Kosovo that left the Swedes in last place in their World Cup qualifying group with one point from four games.

Alexander Isak, who recently joined Liverpool as English soccer's most expensive player ever, called it a “crisis situation.” Fellow striker Viktor Gyökeres, who recently joined Premier League leader Arsenal, summed it up as a “fiasco.”

Simon Åström, chairman of the Swedish Football Association, was less dramatic, simply saying: “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.

“There is still a chance of reaching the (World Cup) playoffs in March, and it is our responsibility to ensure that we have the best possible conditions for reaching the World Cup finals.”

Kim Källström, the federation's football director, said the search for a replacement "will begin immediately." Graham Potter, who made his name as coach of Swedish club Ostersund before spells in the Premier League with Brighton, Chelsea and West Ham, has already expressed his interest.

“I have feelings for Sweden," he told Swedish website Fotbollskanalen. "I love the country and I love Swedish football. I have a lot to be grateful for toward Swedish football.

“So yes, it would be a fantastic opportunity for me.”

Sweden is unlikely to secure a place in the playoffs by finishing in second place in a group headed by Switzerland. Kosovo, which has beaten Sweden home and away in group play, is on seven points — six clear of Sweden with two qualifying games remaining.

Sweden 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.

Sweden finished the game against Kosovo on Monday 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, 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.

“We’ve totally forgotten to score goals,” Tomasson said after the Kosovo loss, “and I don’t know why.”

Isak said the team “hasn’t moved forward" in its World Cup qualifying group, which Sweden started by conceding a 90th-minute goal to draw 2-2 with Slovenia and then lost twice to Kosovo either side of a home defeat to Switzerland.

“It’s a bit of a crisis situation,” Isak 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.”

Dejan Kulusevski, the Tottenham midfielder who hasn't played for Sweden so far in World Cup qualifying because of injury, spoke out in support of Tomasson.

“Great man, great coach,” Kulusevski wrote on Instagram. “Wishing you all the best in your next chapter, it’s been a privilege.”

___

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