Sweden have sacked coach Jon Dahl Tomasson after last night’s 1-0 defeat to Kosovo, leaving their World Cup hopes up in the air.
Dane Tomasson becomes the first man to be sacked by Sweden, which seemed inevitable given the country’s dismal qualifying campaign.
The defeat against Kosovo means the team has taken just one point from their opening four matches and sits bottom of Group B.
Quick U-turn from Kallstrom
Speaking after last night’s match, Swedish FA director of football Kim Kallström said: “We have full confidence in our coach, until we don’t.”
This confidence only lasted 16 hours since a press release this afternoon confirmed Tomasson’s departure.
Swedish FA president Simon Åström said in a statement: “The decision taken by the association’s board of directors is based on the fact that the men’s national team has not produced the results we hoped for. There is still a chance to have qualifiers in March and our responsibility is to ensure that we have the best possible conditions to be able to reach a World Cup final stage.
“In this, we believe that new leadership is needed in the form of a new national team coach.”
Kallström added: “We have a group of players that we believe in a lot and we want to create new opportunities for them. We believe that this team can qualify for the World Cup if the possibility of participating in the playoffs exists in March.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank Jon. Jon has been professional in his dealings with the players, the national team management and with the Swedish Football Association. It is always sad to part ways, but football is based on results and we have reached a point where results are not good enough.”
Isak and Gyokeres delayed by Kosovo
Despite a strike force of Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres worth a combined £180m, Sweden have failed to shine under Tomasson, who leaves after 18 games in charge.
When asked directly if he still had faith in Tomasson after last night’s game, Liverpool star Isak sidestepped the question and replied: “We are so disappointed that we are making everyone unhappy. As players we take a lot of responsibility ourselves. We have to look in the mirror.
“No one is spared. Not us as players. Not us as a team, a coach or anything around us. But we are not going to be left with these questions. [about Tomasson’s future] Today.”
Gyokeres added: “It’s clear it’s a fiasco.”
Although Sweden are unlikely to secure a play-off place through their qualifying group, they could still enter through the backdoor by winning their Nations League group last year – albeit after dropping into the third of European football’s four tiers.
