After a turbulent six years working in the Premier League, the 50-year-old Englishman has taken his first job in international soccer in the country where his coaching journey began in earnest — back in 2011 at Ostersund, a small, unheralded team that he guided from the fourth tier to Sweden's top division.
Fourteen years later, he will take charge of a national team filled with stars from the Premier League like Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyökeres but underachieving after losing three straight games in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.
After firing Danish coach Jon Dahl Tomasson, the Swedish FA has hired another foreign-born coach in Potter on an initial deal that will see him take control for the team's final World Cup qualifiers against Switzerland and Slovenia next month. He will also coach Sweden in the World Cup play-offs in March, which Sweden are likely to reach by virtue of winning their recent Nations League group.
If Sweden qualify for the World Cup, Potter will lead the team at the tournament being co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
"For me, it's very simple," said Potter. "There's no talk of building or changing or philosophy or anything like this. It's just to win games to get to the World Cup."
Having built a reputation in Sweden, Potter — who had a modest playing career in England's lower leagues — returned to Britain to coach, firstly at Swansea and then in the Premier League with Brighton.
He was the first manager hired by Chelsea's new American ownership but didn't last seven months in a tenure played out in chaotic circumstances before being fired in April 2023. His most recent coaching stint was also underwhelming, at West Ham from January to September this year.
Potter said he was "very humbled by the assignment, but also incredibly inspired."
"From my experience of Swedish football, my respect of Swedish football and what I learned from Swedish football, the collective is the most important thing," Potter said, adding: "We've clearly got some top players but football isn't about the 11 best, it's the best 11."
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