Article by Cosmin Nistor – Published on Wednesday, 20 May 2026, 12:32 / Updated on Wednesday, 20 May 2026 12:37
Next month, Sweden returns to the World Championship after an 8-year absence. Less than a month before the first match in the group, against Tunisia, the Swedish federation announced the 26 players who will represent the “Vikings” in America.
From the final group, no less than 10 players progress to the Premier League, a sign that Sweden is relying on the experience in England to make a solid progress.
Sweden's World Cup squad: Liverpool attack and champions Arsenal
porter: Viktor Johansson (Stoke City), Gustaf Lagerbielke (Braga), Kristoffer Nordfeldt (AIK), Jacob Zetterstrom (Derby County)
defense: Hjalmar Ekdal (Burnley), Gabriel Gudmundsson (Leeds United), Isak Hien (Atalanta), Victor Lindelof (Aston Villa), Eric Smith (St. Pauli), Carl Starfelt (Celta Vigo), Daniel Svensson (Borussia Dortmund)
midfielders: Yasin Ayari (Brighton), Lucas Bergvall (Tottenham), Jesper Karlstrom (Udinese), Benjamin Nygren (Celtic), Ken Sema (Paphos), Elliot Stroud (Mjallby), Mattias Svanberg (Wolfsburg), Besfort Zeneli (Union Saint-Gilloise)
ATTACKERS: Taha Ali (Malmö), Alexander Bernhardsson (Holsten Kiel), Anthony Elanga (Newcastle), Viktor Gyökeres (Arsenal), Alexander Isak (Liverpool), Gustaf Nilsson (Club Brugge)
Sweden is in Group F, along with Tunisia, the Netherlands and Japan. This will be Sweden's 13th World Cup appearance, having missed out on the previous edition in Qatar, 2022.
The Swedes' best result remains 2nd place, achieved in 1958, when the final tournament was held on home soil, losing to Pele's Brazil. Other notable performances include #3 in 1950 and 1994 (the golden generation with Thomas Brolin and Henrik Larsson).
Sweden's last appearance at the World Cup was in 2018, in Russia, when the team reached the quarter-finals, being eliminated by England.
