It’s all about the team for the men from northern Europe

● It’s been a warm summer in Sweden, unusually warm. One that reminds a lot of another World Cup summer which sent thermometers soaring — a summer that Swedes will never forget — the one of 1994, when they saw bronze hung around Swedish necks in the USA.

There is a feeling growing that the 2018 World Cup might turn into another unforgettable June and July. On Wednesday they won a World Cup match by three goals for the first time since that summer of 1994. It was the first time they secured two group stage wins since hosting in 1958, where they eventually reached the final.

But there is a major difference between those sides and the one that beat Mexico 3-0 to top Group F on Wednesday. The ’94 and ’58 teams were undoubtedly graced by several world-class players.

It’s not to say that these are not quality players, but it’s not a team that screams individual quality. Instead it comes down to something far more important: teamwork.

Maybe never before has a Swedish national team been in such harmony as the current one. They call themselves a “club team” in the sense that the relationship between the players is as tight as if they saw each other on a daily basis, all year round. “If you google ‘team’, you’ll get a picture of us," John Guidetti, the Swedish striker who plays for Spanish club Deportivo Alavés, said.

That unity has created a special confidence within the group, defender Pontus Jansson told Fifa. “We have an enormous belief in ourselves. I don’t know what the expectations from the outside are, but this is how it is within the group.”

It’s that self-confidence in the team that has taken Sweden this far, overcoming some of the big names in world football. They defeated France and drew with the Netherlands in their qualifying group, before navigating past Italy in the playoffs and now topping a World Cup group that included the reigning champions.

“We know what we have done before and that in football nothing is impossible if you work really hard,” said man of the match against Mexico, Ludwig Augustinsson.

Penalties possible

“This is something that we have built during the last two years and we completely believe in what we are doing,” Sebastian Larsson explained. “We show time after time that we can make it difficult for any opponent that we meet. We work hard and feel very comfortable doing it.”

Switzerland booked their spot in this match-up by finishing second in Group E, making it through all three matches unbeaten with a win and two draws following a 2-2 tie with cellar dwellers Costa Rica in the group’s final match day on Wednesday.

Switzerland and Sweden have not met on the international stage since 2002.

Of all of the knockout stage matches, this match is up there as one that we could see going to extra time and possibly even penalties. — Reuters and AFP