Tony Gustavsson has not been able to get it off his chest since he took over the Swedish women's national football team. There have been only two wins in nine international matches and on Friday night there was a loss to Denmark 1-2 in Odense.
This result means that “Blue Yellow” miss out on a direct place at the World Cup in Brazil next year.
"First of all, I want to give credit to Denmark, who have become incredibly sharp in the transition game. They scored two identical goals. In the first half, they were the better team," says Gustavsson and continues:
"I have to look at myself in the mirror, and so do the players. We have to analyze this result. We wasted 45 minutes."
Gustavsson says that the match against Italy on Tuesday will be very important because it will be the last one before the playoffs begin in October. He also understands that there will be a storm over the lack of results.
"I know that the wind is blowing now and that I will get criticism. It is important to stand firm and continue to build. I have bounced back before and will do this again," he says.
Facts: Sweden under Tony Gustavsson
Tony Gustavsson took over as national team head coach after the European Football Championship last year and was thrown directly into the Nations League playoffs with two-legged ties against Spain (semi-final) and France (third-place match).
Here are Sweden's results 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).
April 18: Sweden 1–0 Serbia in Stockholm (World Cup qualifiers)
June 5: Denmark 1–2 Sweden in Odense (World Cup qualifier)
