Graham Potter has been appointed as Sweden’s new manager less than a month on from his West Ham dismissal.
The position had been vacant after Jon Dahl Tomasson’s sacking last Tuesday, which saw Sweden fire a manager for the first time in their history following an atrocious start to World Cup qualifying.
Potter takes the reins on a short-term basis in a bid to turn their faltering push for next year’s tournament finals around, with Sweden only recording one point in their first four games.
“I am very humbled by the assignment, but also incredibly inspired,” Potter said. “Sweden has fantastic players who deliver in the world’s best leagues during the weeks. My job will be to create the conditions so that we as a team deliver at the highest level to take Sweden to the World Cup next summer.”
Potter returns to the country where he first made his name as a manager, taking Ostersund from the Swedish fourth tier to the top flight before leading them into European competition.
He then returned to his homeland in 2018, spending a season with Swansea before enjoying his most successful spell at Brighton between 2019 and 2022.
After his big step up to Chelsea proved ill-fated, Potter spent close to two years out of management before being appointed West Ham manager. He failed to inspire, however, and after losing five of the first six games in all competitions this season, the 50-year-old was relieved of his duties.
Potter now embarks on his first job in international management, taking over a Sweden team in crisis as World Cup qualification looks all but an impossibility. Sweden have lost three qualifiers on the bounce, including two shock losses to Kosovo.
The Englishman’s deal extends over the ongoing qualifying period with matches against Switzerland and Slovenia in November and a potential playoff in March, with the potential for his contract to be automatically extended through to the World Cup next summer should Sweden qualify.
