Among some of the most competitive footballing nations in the world, Sweden are clearly one of the teams people will want to pay careful attention to. This is because Sweden are frequent guests in multiple major international football events, from the European Championships to FIFA World Cups. When the Blågult (Blue and Yellow) step in, people can always sense an aura about them, with Swedish players fully committing to the match regardless of circumstances.
But Sweden are a strange anomaly. Their U17s team have managed to appear in just one FIFA Under-17 World Cup in 2013; similarly, the U20s team’s lone Under-20 World Cup appearance was in 1991. At the Olympics, since switching to the Under-23 model in 1992, Sweden have qualified for just two editions. To make it even more astonishing, Sweden have only brought home just one youth title, the Under-21 Euros in 2015, which sent them to qualify for the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro a year later.
In so many football cultures across the world, youth football is very important, and serves as an early exam to test how strong and mature these youngsters are before stepping into the elite level. Indeed, it’s not wrong when there are expectations, mostly from scouts, to discover future stars. But Sweden isn’t a youth elite nation. They lack the same level of attention seen to even Croatia and Ukraine, leave alone the likes of bigger footballing nations like Portugal and the Netherlands. In a sense, Sweden should’ve failed.
Yet Sweden still consistently field competitive national teams. Even more so, Sweden have been very capable at producing tactically smart, astute, brilliant and disciplined players year around, with past names like Tore Keller, Nils Liedholm, Thomas Ravelli, Kennet Andersson, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Emil Forsberg, to today’s stars of Anthony Elanga, Alexander Isak, Viktor Gyökeres and Dejan Kulusevski, etc.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, of Sweden. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
With only 10 million people, how can Sweden do that with such a limited resources? It’s actually very simple, but effective.
The first reason behind Sweden’s incredible player pipeline management lies in the country’s very strong domestic league. The Allsvenskan isn’t the same type of league on par with even Greece’s Super League, the Danish Superliga or Polish Ekstraklasa, it’s not extravagant nor flooded with cash. The richest Swedish club, Malmö FF, had 1.3 billion Swedish krona (equivalent to US$135 million) by 2023 statistics – which pales in comparison to Portuguese club Porto FC, whose wealth was generated to over US$454.03 million by the same year. This means it is very hard for Allsvenskan teams to attract top players seen in other Western and Southern European nations.
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But Sweden do not see it as a problem. They consider it an opportunity. Rather than just trying to race for results, Swedish clubs smartly invest their limited money on improving facilities. They’re also encouraged to give play time for youngsters to play football, if that means fostering new generations of football talents. This persistent strategy paid off, and over 80 per cent of Swedish youngsters have regular play time, an impressive feat, providing a stable pipeline of players to supply the Blue and Yellow every year.
Swedish clubs are also encouraged to release their youngsters early if they are spotted out by clubs from richer leagues, meaning these Swedish youngsters are very quick to adapt to new environments and simultaneously upgrade to a whole new level.
Sweden’s Emil Forsberg. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni, File)
With only ten million inhabitants, Sweden cannot pursue aggressive programs seen with Portugal or the Netherlands. So it’s easy to see why Sweden do not have the same youth reputation as other European counterparts.
Sweden do not see their youth football shortcomings as a problem, but an opportunity to learn, observe, and correct. In Swedish eyes, youth national teams are just parts of the maturity lessons, so defeats are not necessarily the end of their careers. That doesn’t mean discarding its importance, but the key aspect is how can these youngsters grow up from these experiences, in which the Swedes measure the most.
By emphasising methodical stability, continuation and logical progression over rushed outcomes, Sweden make sure their youth players won’t collapse after initial faltering. It really works, with many Swedish players maturing right on time to suit the senior programs.
Self-awareness and responsibility are not easily established. They must come from a communal background, first from the families, relatives; and later at schools and academy systems. And it must be delivered very early on persistently.
In this aspect, Sweden have done a great job in making Swedish youngsters learn to take care of themselves and for the people surrounding them. Swedish clubs always require players to participate in social events like social gatherings, charities, community outreach programs and integration initiatives. By making social duties part of social life, it helps raise awareness while creating players who are not just passionate toward the game, but also very self-responsible for their actions. It’s because of this that Sweden can always entrust their players to do their best: because the majority of Swedish players summoned are tactically astute, smart and disciplined.
Dejan Kulusevski. (Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)
Sweden are renowned for making the most of their circumstances. The rise of their conglomerates like Sony Ericsson, H&M, and IKEA serve as a testament of the industrious ability of the Swedes. Football is no exception.
For instance, when Sweden realised the new trend of football focusing more on solid attackers rather than just dullish, dogged defence, the Swedes developed a prolonged strategy as early as the 2010s to nurture a new group of strikers. Clubs in Sweden are encouraged to make active changes and improve players’ mobility, increasing the search for talented strikers and skilful midfielders. The majority of Swedish clubs even have indoor arenas and employ a competent team of experts who can identify which players have the strongest potential. Since the 2020s, Sweden also incorporated Opta Analyst to escalate their talent-building programs.
While maintaining the traditional discipline that forms the core of Swedish football ethics, by acknowledging the changes, Sweden prepare for the future by planting the seeds and cultivating them after being meticulously treated.
Sweden’s effective management is a testament to the country’s strategy: long game, consistent, and smartly adjusted.
Sure, Sweden are currently having a tough time. They have failed to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, recently missed out on the UEFA Euro 2024, and were only recently promoted back to Nations League B again. The Blue and Yellow have just suffered an embarrassing 1-0 friendly loss to Luxembourg away, as the side are still adjusting under new manager Jon Dahl Tomasson.
That said, Sweden are still senior compared to Australia. With 12 World Cups and seven European Championship appearances, plus an Olympic gold medal, Sweden can’t be ruled out in any major competition. The fact that the Nordic country have kept producing strong, capable, disciplined and methodical teams show that they are not going anywhere, a recognisable aspect of Swedish football strategy.
But it is how Sweden built their football that is worthy of praise. Not loud, not colourful, and not overhyped – just being true to what they are. A good domestic league, maturity built from youth set-ups, strong personal responsibility, being innovative and smart – all fuelling the enduring success of the Swedish football machine.
Australia can learn a lot from Sweden. 25 million people may be large for some European nations, but it’s a very small population compared to many AFC members, including those with mid-size populations like North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Uzbekistan. With a smaller population, a smart strategy like that of Sweden has to be promulgated, where youth failures are examined, studied and used as a device to improve; where strong, structured domestic leagues foster homegrown talent; where a stronger education curriculum champions self-responsibility and awareness from childhood; and finally, where players can be identified who can play innovative football for the system.
By doing that, Australia may finally end their consistent instabilities that have plagued the side in every WCQ since 2014. When Australia can finally field a team that embodies these traits, there’ll be fewer heartaches, and trophies waiting.
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