Blågult (The Blue-Yellow) booked their place at a 12th FIFA World Cup following play-off victory over Italy - having finished second in UEFA qualifying Group A, four points behind France.
Marcus Berg stepped up to the plate for the Swedes in the group stages - netting eight goals - to quickly extinguish any lingering memories of the legendary Zlatan Ibrahimović, who might be tempted to make a return to international football.
Jakob Johansson’s first goal for his country enough to seal aggregate victory over the Azzurri, with the four-time champions the biggest casualties - that will not make the trip to Russia.
Sweden boast a credible World Cup pedigree, having finished second at the 1958 & third at the 1950 and 1994 World Cup tournaments.
As hosts 60 years ago - spearhead by the likes of Kurt Hamrin, Agne Simonsson and Nils Liedholm - reached the final, only to be out done by Brazil and the legendary Pele.
Head coach Janne Andersson might not be able to call on the legendary likes of the above mentioned players, but in Berg, Victor Lindelöf, Andreas Granqvist, Sebastian Larsson,Mikael Lustig, Ola Toivonen and the extremely talented Emil Forsberg - he has a balanced group that can cause a few upsets in Russia.
epa06871088 Victor Lindelof (L) of Sweden and Raheem Sterling of England in action during the FIFA World Cup 2018 quarter final soccer match between Sweden and England in Samara, Russia, 07 July 2018.
epa06871113 Emil Forsberg of Sweden (back-L) and John Stones of England in action during the FIFA World Cup 2018 quarter final soccer match between Sweden and England in Samara, Russia, 07 July 2018.
epa06871123 Marcus Berg (C) of Sweden in action against England players Jesse Lingard (L) and Kyle Walker (R) during the FIFA World Cup 2018 quarter final soccer match between Sweden and England in Samara, Russia, 07 July 2018.
epa06871077 Raheem Sterling of England (R) and Sebastian Larsson of Sweden in action during the FIFA World Cup 2018 quarter final soccer match between Sweden and England in Samara, Russia, 07 July 2018.
epa06871080 Harry Kane (L) of England and Sebastian Larsson of Sweden in action during the FIFA World Cup 2018 quarter final soccer match between Sweden and England in Samara, Russia, 07 July 2018.
epa06871075 Dele Alli (L) of England and Emil Forsberg of Sweden in action during the FIFA World Cup 2018 quarter final soccer match between Sweden and England in Samara, Russia, 07 July 2018.
epa06861465 Emil Forsberg of Sweden (C) celebrates with teammates scoring the winning goal during the FIFA World Cup 2018 round of 16 soccer match between Sweden and Switzerland in St.Petersburg, Russia, 03 July 2018.
Marcus Berg (C) of Sweden in action against Swiss players Manuel Akanji (L) and Johan Djourou (R) during the FIFA World Cup 2018 round of 16 soccer match between Sweden and Switzerland in St.Petersburg, Russia, 03 July 2018.
epa06861071 Xherdan Shaqiri of Switzerland (R) and Ludwig Augustinsson of Sweden in action during the FIFA World Cup 2018 round of 16 soccer match between Sweden and Switzerland in St.Petersburg, Russia, 03 July 2018.
epa06861075 Marcus Berg (L) of Sweden in action against Johan Djourou (R) of Switzerland during the FIFA World Cup 2018 round of 16 soccer match between Sweden and Switzerland in St.Petersburg, Russia, 03 July 2018.
Gustav Svensson (L) of Sweden and Xherdan Shaqiri of Switzerland in action during the FIFA World Cup 2018 round of 16 soccer match between Sweden and Switzerland in St.Petersburg, Russia, 03 July 2018.
epa06861069 Marcus Berg of Sweden (L) and Johan Djourou of Switzerland in action during the FIFA World Cup 2018 round of 16 soccer match between Sweden and Switzerland in St.Petersburg, Russia, 03 July 2018.
epa06861052 Mikael Lustig (L) of Sweden fouls Josip Drmic of Switzerland during the FIFA World Cup 2018 round of 16 soccer match between Sweden and Switzerland in St.Petersburg, Russia, 03 July 2018.
epa06861062 Marcus Berg of Sweden (L) and Valon Behrami of Switzerland in action during the FIFA World Cup 2018 round of 16 soccer match between Sweden and Switzerland in St.Petersburg, Russia, 03 July 2018.
epa06861048 Ludwig Augustinsson of Sweden (R) and Granit Xhaka of Switzerland in action during the FIFA World Cup 2018 round of 16 soccer match between Sweden and Switzerland in St.Petersburg, Russia, 03 July 2018.
epa06861049 Marcus Berg of Sweden (R) and Valon Behrami of Switzerland in action during the FIFA World Cup 2018 round of 16 soccer match between Sweden and Switzerland in St.Petersburg, Russia, 03 July 2018.
epa06844215 Carlos Vela (L) of Mexico in action against Viktor Claesson (R) of Sweden during the FIFA World Cup 2018 group F preliminary round soccer match between Mexico and Sweden in Ekaterinburg, Russia, 27 June 2018.
epa06844223 Mikael Lustig (L) of Sweden and Hirving Lozano of Mexico in action during the FIFA World Cup 2018 group F preliminary round soccer match between Mexico and Sweden in Ekaterinburg, Russia, 27 June 2018.
epa06844235 Jesus Gallardo of Mexico in action during the FIFA World Cup 2018 group F preliminary round soccer match between Mexico and Sweden in Ekaterinburg, Russia, 27 June 2018.
epa06844241 Hirving Lozano (L) of Mexico and Sebastian Larsson of Sweden in action during the FIFA World Cup 2018 group F preliminary round soccer match between Mexico and Sweden in Ekaterinburg, Russia, 27 June 2018.
epa06844254 Swedish midfielder Sebastian Larsson (L) and Mexican forward Hirving Lozano in action during the FIFA World Cup 2018 Group F soccer match between Mexico and Sweden, in Ekaterinburg, Russia, 27 June 2018.
epa06844211 Mexican defender Hector Moreno (L) and Swedish forward Marcus Berg shake hands during the FIFA World Cup 2018 Group F soccer match between Mexico and Sweden, in Ekaterinburg, Russia, 27 June 2018.
epa06844213 Mexican forward Javier Hernandez (R) and Swedish midfielder Sebastian Larsson in action during the FIFA World Cup 2018 Group F soccer match between Mexico and Sweden, in Ekaterinburg, Russia, 27 June 2018.
epa06844205 Ludwig Augustinsson (L) of Sweden in action against Miguel Layun (R) of Mexico during the FIFA World Cup 2018 group F preliminary round soccer match between Mexico and Sweden in Ekaterinburg, Russia, 27 June 2018.
epa06844209 Mexican forward Hirving Lozano (C) and Swedish midfielder Victor Claesson (L) in action during the FIFA World Cup 2018 Group F soccer match between Mexico and Sweden, in Ekaterinburg, Russia, 27 June 2018.
epa06844195 Andreas Granqvist (L) of Sweden in action against Javier Hernandez (R) of Mexico during the FIFA World Cup 2018 group F preliminary round soccer match between Mexico and Sweden in Ekaterinburg, Russia, 27 June 2018.
epa06834617 Ludwig Augustinsson (L) of Sweden and Ilkay Guendogan of Germany in action during the FIFA World Cup 2018 group F preliminary round soccer match between Germany and Sweden in Sochi, Russia, 23 June 2018.
epa06834704 Mario Gomez of Germany (L) and Andreas Granqvist of Sweden in action during the FIFA World Cup 2018 group F preliminary round soccer match between Germany and Sweden in Sochi, Russia, 23 June 2018.
epa06834715 Toni Kroos (R) of Germany takes a shot during the FIFA World Cup 2018 group F preliminary round soccer match between Germany and Sweden in Sochi, Russia, 23 June 2018.
epa06834602 Mikael Lustig (L) of Sweden and Thomas Mueller of Germany in action during the FIFA World Cup 2018 group F preliminary round soccer match between Germany and Sweden in Sochi, Russia, 23 June 2018.
epa06834467 Jonas Hector of Germany (R) and Mikael Lustig of Sweden (L) in action during the FIFA World Cup 2018 group F preliminary round soccer match between Germany and Sweden in Sochi, Russia, 23 June 2018.
epa06834500 Joshua Kimmich (L) of Germany and Emil Forsberg of Sweden in action during the FIFA World Cup 2018 group F preliminary round soccer match between Germany and Sweden in Sochi, Russia, 23 June 2018.
epa06834513 Ludwig Augustinsson (L) of Swedenin action against Timo Werner (R) of Germany during the FIFA World Cup 2018 group F preliminary round soccer match between Germany and Sweden in Sochi, Russia, 23 June 2018.
epa06834520 Mikael Lustig (back) of Sweden in action against Marco Reus (front) of Germany during the FIFA World Cup 2018 group F preliminary round soccer match between Germany and Sweden in Sochi, Russia, 23 June 2018.
epa06834484 Emil Forsberg (C) of Sweden in action against Thomas Mueller (R) of Germany during the FIFA World Cup 2018 group F preliminary round soccer match between Germany and Sweden in Sochi, Russia, 23 June 2018.
epa06834477 Marco Reus of Germany (L) and Viktor Claesson of Sweden (R) in action during the FIFA World Cup 2018 group F preliminary round soccer match between Germany and Sweden in Sochi, Russia, 23 June 2018.
epa06818655 Hwang Hee-chan (L) of South Korea and Viktor Claesson of Sweden in action during the FIFA World Cup 2018 group F preliminary round soccer match between Sweden and South Korea in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, 18 June 2018.
epa06818683 Andreas Granqvist (R) of Sweden celebrates after converting a penalty during the FIFA World Cup 2018 group F preliminary round soccer match between Sweden and South Korea in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, 18 June 2018.
epa06818693 Albin Ekdal of Sweden (R) and Son Heung-min of South Korea in action during the FIFA World Cup 2018 group F preliminary round soccer match between Sweden and South Korea in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, 18 June 2018.
epa06818401 Lee Yong of South Korea (R) and Emil Forsberg of Sweden in action the FIFA World Cup 2018 group F preliminary round soccer match between Sweden and South Korea in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, 18 June 2018.
epa06818492 Marcus Berg (L) of Sweden in action against South Korea's goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo (R) during the FIFA World Cup 2018 group F preliminary round soccer match between Sweden and South Korea in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, 18 June 2018.
epa06818501 Hwang Hee-chan (L) of South Korea and Viktor Claesson of Sweden in action during the FIFA World Cup 2018 group F preliminary round soccer match between Sweden and South Korea in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, 18 June 2018.
Sebastian Larsson of Sweden (R) and Ki Sung-yueng of South Korea in action the FIFA World Cup 2018 group F preliminary round soccer match between Sweden and South Korea in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, 18 June 2018.
epa06818362 Sebastian Larsson of Sweden (R) and Koo Ja-cheol of South Korea in action the FIFA World Cup 2018 group F preliminary round soccer match between Sweden and South Korea in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, 18 June 2018.
epa06818364 Ki Sung-yueng of South Korea (R) and Viktor Claesson of Sweden in action the FIFA World Cup 2018 group F preliminary round soccer match between Sweden and South Korea in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, 18 June 2018.
epa06818376 Lee Jae-sung of South Korea (L) and Albin Ekdal of Sweden in action the FIFA World Cup 2018 group F preliminary round soccer match between Sweden and South Korea in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, 18 June 2018.
Sweden
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