A few minutes after the final whistle blew on the play-off final, euphoria still coursing through his veins, Sweden manager Graham Potter gathered his players around him. “Look at this, this is a f*****g team,” he said, pointing at them, before breaking into a broad grin. “And we’re going to the f*****g World Cup, baby!”
Perhaps it was just a throw away line while high on football’s most potent drug, the World Cup. But Potter’s choice of words offered an insight into the unique task of being an international manager, particularly his task. The Swedish FA gave him one job: ‘Get us to the World Cup’. Potter had four months to prepare for two play-off games. And in reality, once he got the players together, he had about 48 hours until kick-off. There was no time to design complex build-up patterns or pressing structures or set-piece routines. His sole task was to build “a f*****g team”.
