Almost a year has passed since Graham Potter first took charge of the Swedish national football team.
Back then, the Blue and Yellows were a team in disarray, mocked after losing twice to Kosovo in a short space of time.
A year later, the situation is completely different.
Potter experienced “the best night of his professional life” when Sweden beat Poland in the World Cup playoff in March, a victory that secured a long-awaited summer at the championship in North America. This autumn, the success has continued in the Nations League, where Sweden are unbeaten and top their group in League B.
It has been a fantastic experience, Potter tells TT about his first year in the job.
In the beginning, it was about trying to get the team and the country to find their way back to each other. It is so important to have that positive relationship. Then it helps if you win. If we look back at where we started a year ago, we are in a much better place now.
First for Kulusevski
When Jon Dahl Tomasson was national team coach, he said in an interview with Dagens Nyheter that the national team consisted of “eight players who carry the piano and three who play it”.
Only now, with the squad gathering in Valencia on Monday, has Potter been able to select all three “pianists” - Viktor Gyökeres, Alexander Isak and Dejan Kulusevski. The 51-year-old coach is of course happy to finally have the latter in the national team, even if his choice of words differs greatly from those of his Danish predecessor.
Football is not about listing individuals who play so-and-so well at a certain level. It's about finding a balance and putting a team together. That's also what I often hear from our fans - that we look like a team, says Potter.
But having all our best players available of course helps, if we are to be able to compete against the very best teams.
Difficult against top teams
It is primarily against the top teams that Sweden's weaknesses have been exposed. This year, the Blue and Yellows have faced five countries ranked in the world's top 20 and, apart from the draw against Japan at the World Cup, have lost every time. The overall goal difference is 4-16.
The match against France in the World Cup was a disappointment because we went out, but also because I don't think we played and represented ourselves as well as we can. Of course, we faced a top opponent and many of us experienced our first World Cup. But one task we have is to develop the team so that we can reach those matches again and be able to do better, says Potter.
Then he returns to his favourite word: balance.
How can we have enough of our own game when we face the top teams - creating chances and not just defending - but at the same time finding the right balance? We talk about that all the time - balance, balance, balance. We actually played quite well against the Netherlands, but you can't say that when you lose 1-5 and concede far too many goals.
"Fantastic for us"
After being sacked following short spells at both Chelsea and West Ham, this will be the first time since his time at Brighton, from 2019 to 2022, that Potter has had the opportunity to work on a longer-term basis.
The next championship is Euro 2028, which will be held in his home country as Great Britain and Ireland host the tournament. But right now, Potter's thoughts do not extend beyond Saturday's home match against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
If we win it, it will be fantastic for us and we will win the group. But if they win, it will change everything.
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