Sweden at the World Cup

Sweden's 12th participation at the World Cup was in Russia 2018. Previous appearances were in 1934, 1938, 1950, 1958, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1990, 1994, 2002. They failed to make the World Cup finals in 2010, 2014 and 2022. The team also qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, where they reached the Round of 32.

Sweden claimed fourth place in the 1938 FIFA World Cup. Twenty years later in 1958, the Swedes had their best performance, finishing runners-up. They reached the final on home soil after dismissing the defending champions Germany in the semi-final, however, their opponents in the final proved superior as Brazil defeated the Scandinavian home side 5-2.

2018 World Cup Sweden taking a penalty shot

After their success in 1958, Sweden failed to qualify for the next two tournaments. In 1970 their campaign ended in the first round, in 1974 they went one round further. In 1978 they returned home without a win.

In 2018, Sweden were back in the tournament after a 16 year break. On the way through qualifying, they knocked out Italy and Netherlands. They did not qualify for the 2022 tournament in Qatar.

1934

Sweden reached the quarter-final of the 1934 FIFA World Cup, but lost 1-2 to Germany.

1938

Sweden reached the semi-final of the 1938 FIFA World Cup, but lost 1-5 to Hungary. The team also lost the third place match to Brazil.

1950

Sweden played in the final group of the 1950 World Cup, but didn't win. The team won just one group game and finished with 2 points.

1958

Sweden reached the final of the 1958 FIFA World, but lost the trophy to Brazil.

1970

Sweden didn't make it out of Group 2 at the 1970 FIFA World Cup.

1974

Sweden made it out of Group 3 at the 1974 FIFA World Cup. However, the team failed to qualify from Group B to progress to the next stage of the competition.

1978

Sweden didn't make it out of Group 3 at the 1978 FIFA World Cup.

1990

Sweden didn't make it out of Group C at the 1990 FIFA World Cup.

1994

Sweden reached the semi-final of the 1994 FIFA World Cup, but lost 0-1 to Brazil. The team won 4-0 against Bulgaria at the end of the third place match of the competition.

2002

Sweden reached the Round of 16 of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, but lost 1-2 to Senegal.

2006

Sweden reached the Round of 16 of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, but lost 0-2 to Germany.

2018

Sweden reached the quarter final of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, but lost 0-2 to England.

2026

Sweden qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and were drawn into Group F alongside the Netherlands, Japan, and Tunisia. They opened in style with a 5–1 thrashing of Tunisia, but were then beaten by the same scoreline by the Netherlands.

A 1–1 draw with Japan in their final group game left them third on 4 points, enough to advance as one of the eight best third-placed teams. This was the team's first knockout appearance since 2018. In the Round of 32, however, Graham Potter's side were outclassed by France, losing 0–3.

Trivia

• The first qualifying match in World Cup history was played between Sweden and Estonia (score 6:2) on 11 June 1933.
• Swedish football re-ignited in the 1990s, culminating in third place in the 1994 FIFA World Cup.