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FIFA World Cup Betting: The Swedes defied expectations by qualifying for the World Cup for the first time since 2006. Sweden was placed in a group with powerhouses France and the Netherlands, as well as Nordic rival Norway. They were expected to come in third or fourth place, but finished in second place behind France, leading to the Netherlands not even sniffing the World Cup.
From there, Sweden continued to defy the odds. The Swedes were drawn against Italy in the playoffs and Italy was seen as a heavy favorite to make it to the World Cup. After all, how could the three-time champions fail to qualify? Yet Sweden was able to hold the Italians scoreless over 180 minutes to shock the world and make it back to the World Cup.
We will see whether or not the Swedes can continue to break hearts in June.
Once every four years, the world's most popular game has its biggest tournament. The World Cup is as big as it gets all over the world, especially for the 32 countries who have earned the right to partake in this tournament. We think of the World Cup as a four-week tournament in June and July every few years, but this is actually a tournament where every FIFA team in the world has a chance to make it to the big stage.
The 2018 World Cup in Russia will begin on Thursday, June 14 and run through the final on Sunday, July 15. All of the action can be seen on FOX, FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2.
Sweden Betting Odds
Odds on Sweden to win Group F: +600
Odds on Sweden to win 2018 World Cup: +15000
Matches
Sweden vs. South Korea, Monday, June 18, 2018, 8 a.m. ET, Nizhny Novgorod Stadium (Nizhny Novgorod)
Sweden vs. Germany, Saturday, June 23, 2018, 2 p.m. ET, Fisht Stadium (Sochi)
Sweden vs. Mexico, Wednesday, June 27, 2018, 10 a.m. ET, Central Stadium (Yekaterinburg)
Manager
Janne Anderson
History at the World Cup
For the first few decades of the World Cup, Sweden was a perennial threat to win it all. The Swedes made it to the semifinals in 1938 and 1950 and finished runners-up when they hosted the World Cup back in 1958.
Since then, Sweden has not had much success. The country was able to take third place at the 1994 World Cup in the United States, but that was a bright spot in a see of disappointment. That was the one team they made it past the Round of 16 since hosting the World Cup 60 years ago.
Player to Watch
If he comes out of retirement in order to rejoin the national team, Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be one of the stories of the World Cup. Ibra’s skill is legendary. He has long been considered one of the top forwards in the world and is still capable of creating magic at the age of 36.
Ibra retired from international play after Sweden’s disappointment at Euro 2016, but he has remained active at the club level. After failing to break through with Jose Mourinho and Manchester United over the latter half of the season, he was transferred to the Los Angeles Galaxy of the MLS. Ibra made a remarkable debut with a brace in a win over LAFC, showing his prodigious talent in the process. Sweden does not have a threat like him on the offensive end, and he will give them an extra dynamic.
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