Sweden have a good record at the World Cup, despite not being considered as one of the big European nations when it comes to football.
They have reached the Round of 16 in each of their last two appearances at the tournament, which came in 2002 and 2006. The Swedes also finished third in the 1994 World Cup and have previously finished runners-up, back as hosts in 1968.
However, Sweden failed to qualify for the 2010 and 2014 World Cup and will be making a return to the event after an 8 year absence.
Sweden did very well to qualify for the 2018 World Cup having been drawn in a group with France, Netherlands and Bulgaria. Netherlands have been disappointing over the past few years but were expected to provide tough opposition to Sweden, who were hoping to finish second behind France.
Despite beating the French at home, defeats in Bulgaria and Netherlands put pay to any hope of finishing top. Sweden did manage to finish second, having won six of their ten matches. The draw for the playoffs was not kind to the Swedes and they were paired with Italy.
The Italians were the favourites to progress but having won the first leg 1-0 on home soil, Sweden held out for a 0-0 draw in Milan to reach the World Cup.
Sweden are likely to be very predictable in the way they line-up in Russia and a solid 4-4-2 formation is the preferred option. They have little pace to call upon in the attacking third and will be relying on the strength of their strikers to hold up the ball and bring in Emil Forsberg, who is their best forward thinking player.
There is plenty of experience in the Swedish squad and they have several players who have over 30 caps for their country. For players including Andreas Granqvist, Mikael Lustig, Sebastian Larsson, Gustav Svensson, Marcus Berg and Ola Toivonen, this is likely to be their last chance to play in the World Cup.
There is one man missing who has been the star for Sweden over the last 15 years and his name is Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The LA Galaxy striker was rumoured to be coming out of retirement to play in Russia but will not be part of the Sweden squad. While there is little doubting Ibrahimovic’s quality, the management and a team as whole may operate better without the influence of the former Manchester United man.
Sweden have been drawn with Germany, Mexico and South Korea at the World Cup. The Germans are huge favourites to top the group and will leave the remaining three teams, including Sweden, battling it out for second place.
The match against Mexico, a team who regularly make the Round of 16 will be key. This is the final group game for Sweden and a win in that could take them to the knockout stages. However, do not expect to see the Swedes go any deeper in the tournament than the Round of 16.