All group winners and runners-up advance to the round of 16 in the World Cup. But eight of the twelve third-place teams also advance, and this is where things could get tricky for Sweden.
This applies ahead of the final group stage match against Japan:
+ If Sweden wins against Japan, they will definitely advance, even though they will finish second in the group.
+ A draw is probably enough. That would likely be enough for Sweden to advance as one of the top three.
But what happens if Sweden loses?
You might not know until a couple of days later.
“It’s obviously a special situation. But our basic attitude will be to go in and win the game,” said left winger Elliot Stroud.
Go for a result?
The fact remains that Sweden could find itself in a difficult situation, where it needs to have a plan.
Say Sweden is down by a goal at the end of the match against Japan. In that situation, players would not know whether they need an equalizer to advance as one of the top three, or whether it is more important not to concede any more goals, otherwise they risk being eliminated on goal difference.
National team head coach Graham Potter doesn’t know how to reason about it.
“Your coaching brain is programmed to think about how we can prepare the team, to give ourselves a good chance to win the game. But our job is also to think about ‘What does this result mean going forward?’ So that’s definitely something we have to have with us,” says Potter.
But the problem is that you may not know which applies.
Exactly. And that’s why it’s going to be very difficult for me to give you an answer about what we’re going to do and how.
Logistical concerns
Sweden plays Japan on Thursday evening, local time. It will not be clear until Saturday evening whether the Blue and Yellows will advance, which in itself could pose major logistical problems. If things go badly, there could be a round of 16 against Germany outside Boston, less than two days later.
“Life has taught me not to worry about things you can’t control. That’s part of the challenge and the allure of the tournament,” says Graham Potter.
This is not like the World Cup in Qatar, where it was a 20-minute bus ride to every match. This will be a logistical challenge no matter what happens.
