Defender Victor Nilsson Lindelöf, midfielder Emil Forsberg, and goalkeeper Robin Olsen have together made 232 international appearances for Sweden's national football team, but the trio is missing due to injuries when Nations League matches against Azerbaijan and Estonia are expected.
Now I'm curious to see who steps forward and wants to be a leader, says national team coach Jon Dahl Tomasson when he presents the squad.
The September matches will be the Dane's first competitive international matches since he took over as national team coach in March. Then Tomasson selects super talent Lucas Bergvall, who in early June left Djurgården for Tottenham.
"A lot of trust"
He gets a lot of trust from the coaches in Tottenham. He doesn't start yet in the Premier League, but when he has played, he has made a difference in the matches.
It's the first time Bergvall is selected for the "real" national team. In January, the 18-year-old played a friendly international match during the January tour. In England, Bergvall is a teammate with Dejan Kulusevski, who now takes over the national team's captaincy in Nilsson Lindelöf's absence.
He helps Lucas in Tottenham for the time being and grows into the role (as a leader), says Tomasson.
The big surprise in the squad is defender Alex Douglas. He moved to Polish Lech Poznan from Västerås SK this summer. 23-year-old Douglas has never been selected for a national team at any level before.
He has taken Poland by storm. He goes forward, is brave with the ball, and fast, says Tomasson.
"Not to be arrogant"
Sweden has only played four friendly international matches under Tomasson's leadership. The result is one win (Albania) and three losses (Portugal, Denmark, and Serbia) with a goal difference of 4–10.
Now it's getting serious. Blue-yellow will try to get back to the B-division in the Nations League, and the journey begins at the Tofiq Bähramov Stadium in Baku against Azerbaijan on September 5. Three days later, Estonia awaits in Solna.
We must be very humble, but still have ambitions. We can't be arrogant. There's a reason why Sweden hasn't played the last two major tournaments (World Championship 2022 and European Championship 2024) and has been relegated to the C-division, says Jon Dahl Tomasson.
Goalkeepers: Viktor Johansson, Stoke, Kristoffer Nordfeldt, AIK, Jacob Widell Zetterström, Derby.
Defenders: Ludwig Augustinsson, Anderlecht, Alex Douglas, Lech Poznan, Isak Hien, Atalanta, Gabriel Gudmundsson, Lille, Emil Krafth, Newcastle, Ken Sema, Watford, Carl Starfelt, Celta Vigo, Linus Wahlqvist Egnell, Pogon Szczecin.
Midfielders/forwards: Yasin Ayari, Brighton, Lucas Bergvall, Tottenham, Jens Cajuste, Ipswich, Anthony Elanga, Nottingham, Niclas Eliasson, AEK Athens, Viktor Gyökeres, Sporting Lisbon, Alexander Isak, Newcastle, Dejan Kulusevski, Tottenham, Hugo Larsson, Eintracht Frankfurt, Sebastian Nanasi, Strasbourg, Gustaf Nilsson, Club Brugge, Anton Salétros, AIK, Mattias Svanberg, Wolfsburg.
The men's Nations League in Europe consists of four divisions, where the best teams play in the A-division and the worst in the D-division.
Sweden was relegated from the second-highest division in 2022 and now plays in the C-division.
The group stage will be decided during the autumn, and it's about winning the group to be promoted directly to the B-division.
The group runner-up will play a playoff in a double match (home and away) against a group three from the B-division in a battle for play in the second-highest division in the future.
The two worst fourth-placed teams in the C-division's four groups will be directly relegated to the lowest division. The two best fourth-placed teams will play a playoff against two group runners-up from the D-division.
Sweden's matches in the C-division:
September 5: Azerbaijan (away).
September 8: Estonia (home).
October 11: Slovakia (away).
October 14: Estonia (away).
November 16: Slovakia (home).
November 19: Azerbaijan (home).
