Graham Potter, the Sweden manager, was left nursing a sore ear after his side opened their World Cup campaign with a resounding 5-1 victory over Tunisia in Monterrey. The former Brighton boss was pictured with blood trickling from his right ear during post-match interviews, leading him to speculate that an overzealous celebrant may have bitten him.
“I don’t know what happened. Someone scratched me, or bit me. I’ll have to analyse the video footage,” Potter joked to Swedish outlet Sportbladet. The incident appeared to occur amid the jubilant scenes following a dominant performance that saw Brighton midfielder Yasin Ayari score twice, with Mattias Svanberg, Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres also on the scoresheet.
The result was a stark contrast to Sweden’s dismal qualifying campaign, which saw them fail to win a single group game. Potter was brought in late to steady the ship, and the team eventually secured their place at the finals via a Nations League play-off, beating Ukraine and Poland. “I’m really pleased with the players. We know the quality of the individuals in the front positions but they needed a team to function,” Potter said.
Sweden now face a daunting Group F, which also includes Japan and the Netherlands. The Dutch played out a 2-2 draw with Japan on Sunday, setting up a crucial encounter between the two European sides on 20 June. “We will meet another top team at the weekend who are one of the favourites for the competition,” Potter added, acknowledging the challenge ahead.
The win has resurrected Swedish hopes of progressing deep into the tournament. Potter emphasised that his side would not be distracted by external predictions. “We just focus on what we can do, we focus on our performances. It doesn’t matter what people think from the outside or opinions,” he said.
Source: Sportbladet