The former Chelsea and West Ham manager was sacked from his last two Premier League jobs but is enjoying his role with Sweden, who led them to an emphatic victory over Tunisia in their first World Cup match.
Graham Potter relaxed at the World Cup (Image: PETTER ARVIDSON/BILDBYRÅN/Shutterstock)
On the first day of this World Cup, ITV presenter Semra Hunter confused Graham Potter with Gareth Southgate. It’s easy. But perhaps the gaffe was subconsciously linked to the fact that less than two years ago Mr Potter was keen to replace Mr Southgate as England manager.
Southgate resigned just days after losing to Spain in the Euro 2024 final, while Potter was on holiday after a relatively short period of bad luck at Chelsea. There was no rush of English candidates into the game, and Potter had strong support within the Football Association.
After all, no manager’s reputation is so badly damaged by a failure at Stamford Bridge. However, the FA were tempted by a big foreign manager, and six months later Potter was transferred to West Ham, where he was even less successful than at Chelsea.
The strong reputation he had built in Swedish club football, Swansea and Brighton appeared to be fading away. But Potter had a reason for his solid reputation.
Sweden’s 5-1 victory over Tunisia was one of the standout performances of the World Cup so far, even though it was against a team ranked 56th in the world. Potter was appointed as Sweden’s manager in October but was unable to stop the team from finishing bottom of their qualifying group.
However, they qualified for the play-offs thanks to their Nations League standings, and then went on to advance to the finals against Ukraine and Poland. The Swedish Football Association were so impressed that they signed Potter to a contract until 2030.
Alexander Isak hit the mark as Sweden beat Tunisia (Image: (Luke Hales/Getty Images))
Considering the talent they have at their disposal, the tide shouldn’t have ebbed enough for Sweden to turn to Potter. The line-up against Tunisia, who may be lower in the table but had not conceded a goal in qualifying, was spearheaded by the attacking partnership of Liverpool’s Alexander Isak and Arsenal’s Victor Gokeres, who have both opened their World Cup accounts.
And Potter could bring in Premier League-level players such as Spurs’ Lukas Bergvall and Newcastle’s Anthony Elanga. Not to mention a stunning victory in the opening round of the tournament, there seemed to be a great bond between the Swedish player and Potter in the aftermath of the victory in Monterrey.
And perhaps Potter relishes this opportunity because it is essentially a labor of love. To be honest, the 51-year-old coach doesn’t need to work again. Chelsea paid him £13 million in compensation and West Ham paid him £5 million.
Potter spent seven and a half years at Ostersund, leading the club to the Swedish second division. Before the tournament, he spoke about his “Swedishness.”
Graham Potter enjoying his role as Sweden manager (Image: FIFA via Getty Images)
“I look a little Swedish, too,” he laughed. Indeed, after his strong performance against Tunisia, Potter looks quite Swedish and will be full of confidence heading into Saturday’s game against the Netherlands.
In that match, Isak vs. Virgil van Dijk could whet your appetite. With Isak, who was fully fit and only racked up a few club miles last season, and Jokeres at his disposal, Potter could take the Swede further than many expect.
And maybe if Tuchel wasn’t producing World Cup merchandise, the English Football Association might take another look at him. Because Potter may be wearing a hat, but he’s clearly not a cowboy.
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