Denmark hold an advantage halfway through the qualifiers for next year's World Cup in Brazil. The 2-1 victory at Gamla Ullevi on Tuesday means the Danes have a three-point lead in the group, where only the top team qualifies directly for the tournament.
For Sweden, this means that three victories are likely required against Serbia (Saturday), Denmark (June 5) and Italy (June 9).
After Italy's 6-0 victory over Serbia on Tuesday, it could also come down to how many goals Sweden scores.
"The calculation we have made is that we have to win all three games. We have put ourselves in a tough situation, but we will take on the challenge and start with Serbia," says Tony Gustavsson.
Tuesday's loss means Sweden still has only one victory since Tony Gustavsson took over as national coach last fall.
Otherwise, there have been two draws and four losses.
Short on time
"I understand the question and that it can also be asked from a very critical perspective, that there is pressure on me and so on," he says.
But I'm glad I've been around for so long and know where we stand and where we're going. We have incredible confidence in the process. But having said that, I also have the utmost respect for the fact that we don't have much time.
Since last summer's European Championship, the national team - not least on the defensive side - has been forced to make a rapid transition as Linda Sembrant, Magdalena Eriksson and Jonna Andersson have ended their national team careers.
In addition, injuries to Kosovare Asllani, among others, have meant that even more experience has been lost from the squad.
“The missing goals”
At the same time, for example, Fridolina Rolfö started on the bench against Denmark.
"I don't want to talk specifically about individual players, but we have a wealth of offensive options. There are many players who unfortunately don't get the playing time they might actually deserve, because there's not room for everyone," says Tony Gustavsson.
Despite the offensive options, however, they only managed one goal against Denmark (Monica Jusu Bah). This means Sweden risks ending up in an uncertain playoff for a World Cup spot this fall.
Against Serbia, greater accuracy in attack is required, notes Real Madrid midfielder Filippa Angeldahl.
"We have to be more clinical. We played a very good match against Denmark. We created a lot, but the goals are missing and that's what wins football matches," she says.
Tony Gustavsson took over as national team coach after the European Championship last year and was thrown directly into the Nations League playoffs with two-legged matches against Spain (semi-final) and France (bronze match).
Here is Sweden's result since the European Championship:
October 24: 0–4 against Spain in Málaga (Nations League),
October 28: 0–1 against Spain in Gothenburg (Nations League).
November 28: 1–2 against France in Reims (Nations League).
December 2: 2–2 against France in Stockholm (Nations League).
March 3: 1–0 against Italy in Reggio Calabria (World Cup qualifier).
March 7: 0–0 against Serbia in Stara Pazova (World Cup qualifier).
April 14: 1–2 against Denmark in Gothenburg (World Cup qualifiers).
