Graham Potter has left out two of Sweden’s best young players from his World Cup squad.
The former Brighton, West Ham and Chelsea coach named his 26-man list for the tournament and while many expected names were included, some were not.
One of those was metronomic midfielder Hugo Larsson of Eintracht Frankfurt who has 12 caps to his name.
Responding to the snub was Frankfurt sporting director Markus Krösche who was rather baffled.
“This decision is simply inexplicable from a sporting perspective,” he said.
“Hugo has developed at the highest level in recent years, consistently delivered strong performances, and is one of the absolute key players in our team.
“34 competitive matches this season speak for themselves.
“Anyone who ignores such performances sends the wrong message to every professional who works hard for everything week after week.
“For us, it’s clear: Hugo more than deserved the nomination. This decision is not only incomprehensible, but in our view simply wrong.”
Larsson wasn’t the only one disappointed, with Roony Bardghji of Barcelona also missing out.
Speaking a day before the announcement, former Sweden regular John Guidetti thought the winger was a lock.
“People don’t understand,” he said. “You know, I read that some people are wondering if he’s going to the World Cup?
“What kind of question is that? What are we even talking about? Honestly, seriously?
“He’s played 19 games with the Spanish league champions, Barcelona. This is huge, it’s truly huge! He’s won La Liga.
“You have to realise that a Swede has achieved this. I’m bursting with emotion!
“The guy who benched Marcus Rashford at Barcelona, we might not take him to the World Cup.
“We think it’s ridiculous. I’m getting irritated, sorry, I’ll calm down…”
Potter explains his Sweden squad
Giving his take on the selection, Potter explained: “It’s not something I take lightly.
“As a human being and as a father you know how tough it is to leave people out.
“As for Hugo and Roony, I don’t have all the answers, but the the last couple of games I’ve played different players and made different choices, not right or wrong, but that’s what we started with.
“And from a competition perspective others are ahead at the moment.
“To look where people are playing [which club] is another way of looking at it of course, but there’s a different way to see everything and we have to start somewhere.
“Both of those guys have players ahead of them at the moment and I could completely be wrong with those decisions.”
Sweden’s Official Squad For The 2026 World Cup
Goalkeepers
Viktor Johansson — Stoke City (Championship, England)
Kristoffer Nordfeldt — AIK Solna (Allsvenskan, Sweden)
Jacob Widell Zetterström — Derby County (Championship, England)
Defenders
Hjalmar Ekdal — Burnley (Premier League, England)
Gabriel Gudmundsson — Leeds United (Premier League, England)
Isak Hien — Atalanta (Serie A, Italy)
Emil Holm — Juventus (Serie A, Italy)
Gustaf Lagerbielke — Braga (Primeira Liga, Portugal)
Victor Nilsson Lindelöf — Aston Villa (Premier League, England)
Eric Smith — St. Pauli (Bundesliga, Germany)
Carl Starfelt — Celta de Vigo (LaLiga, Spain)
Elliot Stroud — Mjällby (Allsvenskan, Sweden)
Daniel Svensson — Borussia Dortmund (Bundesliga, Germany)
Midfielders
Taha Ali — Malmö FF (Allsvenskan, Sweden)
Yasin Ayari — Brighton & Hove Albion (Premier League, England)
Lucas Bergvall — Tottenham Hotspur (Premier League, England)
Alexander Bernhardsson — Holstein Kiel (Bundesliga, Germany)
Jesper Karlström — Udinese (Serie A, Italy)
Benjamin Nygren — Celtic (Scottish Premiership, Scotland)
Ken Sema — Pafos FC (Cypriot First Division, Cyprus)
Mattias Svanberg — Wolfsburg (Bundesliga, Germany)
Besfort Zeneli — Union SG (Pro League, Belgium)
Forwards
Anthony Elanga — Newcastle United (Premier League, England)
Viktor Gyökeres — Arsenal (Premier League, England)
Alexander Isak — Liverpool (Premier League, England)
Gustaf Nilsson — Club Brugge (Pro League, Belgium)
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