OPINION: Sweden pass their Japanese test but not with flying colours

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/elanga-anthony/dOlRWlZ6/"]Elanga[/a]'s second in as many games levelled matters in the second half, just six minutes after [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/maeda-daizen/6kfQTp18/"]Daizen Maeda[/a] had given [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/japan/ULXPdOUj/"]Japan[/a] the lead with a well-worked goal, and that was plenty for Japan to finish second in Group F, a point clear of the Swedes, who ensured they would be one of the eight best third-placed teams.[/p][p]It rightly should be all smiles for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/sweden/OQyqbHWB/"]Sweden[/a], whose aim was to get out of the group, but as Flashscore analyses, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/japan-ULXPdOUj/sweden-OQyqbHWB/?mid=Sl2xgtXi"]the evening[/a] wasn't quite as perfect as it seemed.[/p][h2]Potter magic, or lucky spell?[/h2][p]Having started the campaign with a 5-1 thrashing of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/tunisia/QqZVYk95/"]Tunisia[/a], few had any issue with head coach Graham Potter naming an unchanged line-up to face the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/netherlands/WYintcWb/"]Netherlands[/a], but after the [i]Oranje [/i]picked his side apart to put Sweden on the wrong end of a 5-1 scoreline, the Englishman was under pressure to make changes, make them quickly, and make them right.[/p][p][b]He made three, and they were all something of a surprise.[/b] None more so than in goal, where [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/nordfeldt-kristoffer/zidYDVKR/"]Kristoffer Nordfeldt[/a] lost his place, which was taken by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/zetterstrom-widell/OG2Bcuat/"]Jacob Widell Zetterstrom[/a]. The closest Nordfeldt came to being culpable for one of the six goals he'd conceded was the Netherlands' fourth, beaten at his near post by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gakpo-cody/pWyuBud0/"]Cody Gakpo[/a], but that surely didn't merit being dropped.[/p][embed guid="63815f7f-50f5-4f18-a479-dd36d0ec90da" url="https://x.com/svenskfotboll/status/2070401439738773846" social-type="twitter" /][p]The back three and two wing-backs that started the first two games all kept places in the starting XI, if not the same places. [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lindelof-victor/OIp0Le1f/"]Victor Lindelof[/a] was shuffled forward into midfield, meaning [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gudmundsson-gabriel/0zzTdK1T/"]Gabriel Gudmundsson[/a] tucked into the central three and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/stroud-elliot/4rVMk5Sb/"]Elliot Stroud[/a] came in as left wing-back. Elanga was also handed a started, replacing [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/nygren-benjamin/WCHWGOvf/"]Benjamin Nygren[/a] to turn a 3-4-1-2 into a 3-4-3 formation.[/p][p][b]Zetterstrom [/b]faced three shots on target in a 90 minutes that took time to spark into life. Late in the first half, he made a simple stop to deny [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sugawara-yukinari/f7AvlM2c/"]Yukinari Sugawara[/a]'s daisy-cutter, before tipping a Maeda effort away having got down well to his left. There was nothing he could do about Maeda's finish in the second half, and credit to the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/derby/Iug0YO0Q/"]Derby County[/a] goalkeeper for playing his part in a high-pressure situation, but one would have expected Nordfeldt to have done just as well.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/mjallby/S0XtXM1E/"]Mjallby[/a] man [b]Stroud [/b]had a solid game down the left, with a high passing accuracy of 83%, but that dipped to 50% when it came into passes into the final third and crosses into the box. By no means a problem, but that lack of productivity in attack was perhaps part of the thinking when he was hooked for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sema-ken/8bzOQTcg/"]Ken Sema[/a] with 15 minutes to play.[/p][p]As for the [b]Lindelof [/b]in midfield experiment, it was ended prematurely when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hien-isak/hz4zWEIG/"]Isak Hien[/a] was taken off injured after 37 minutes, which meant Lindelof dropped back and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bergvall-lucas/th3mAHj9/"]Lucas Bergvall[/a] came on in midfield. Japan's three shots on target coming post-Hien are an argument for the experiment working, but as the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/atalanta/8C9JjMXu/"]Atalanta[/a] man had already been booked and hurt himself when overstretching to get back into position, one could also say the defence never looked settled from the off. Bringing Bergvall on rather than another centre-back also gives the impression Potter thought it wasn't working as he hoped.[/p][h2]Attack starting to dry up?[/h2][p]Elanga's goal has not been conveniently forgotten to back up a point, but instead used to make another. Credit must be given to Potter for giving Elanga his chance, and to the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/newcastle-utd/p6ahwuwJ/"]Newcastle[/a] man for earning and taking it, but an unsighted [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/suzuki-zion/4bDDVvmT/"]Zion Suzuki[/a] in the Japan goal would have expected to do better had he had a better view of the effort.[/p][p]Much like Zetterstrom at the other end, Suzuki only had a few routine stops to deal with before conceding, and late on got behind an [b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/isak-alexander/p41IV42c/"]Alexander Isak[/a][/b] shot and denied Elanga from a tight angle to preserve parity without breaking much of a sweat.[/p][image alt="Japan vs Sweden match stats" id="21ee5162-e3a9-4300-a27b-c13e24206a7a" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform" guid="fddc22d4-4b9f-416b-aa6f-60c0700b055e" original-width="1920" original-height="1080" /][p]Over the 90 minutes, [b]Sweden managed 11 shots, five of which were on target, and produced an expected goals (xG) rate of 0.64[/b]. These numbers were all down on the loss to the Netherlands - 16 shots, eight on target and 1.01 xG. A best xG of 1.34 in the 5-1 win over a Tunisia side that went on to concede 12 times in three games will come as no surprise, but that actually came from a worse attacking output that [i]Blagult [/i]managed against the Dutch - 13 shots, seven on target.[/p][p]By the usual metrics, Sweden's attack had its worst showing of the campaign so far. A draw suiting both sides may have had an impact on how the game developed, but considering Sweden's forward players are considered their greatest strength, it is a worry that they appear to be going off the boil.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gyokeres-viktor/zaBZ1xIk/"]Viktor Gyokeres[/a][/b] produced one blocked effort from outside the area all game, and though he got the assist for the goal, his short pass out wide to Elanga on the wing was hardly the key moment in the goal-scoring move. The aforementioned Isak shot, meanwhile, only came about through Japan giving possession away cheaply. Other than that, the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/liverpool/lId4TMwf/"]Liverpool[/a] man was the quietest he's been in the tournament so far.[/p][embed guid="d11a49f3-b868-457d-a2b3-572aabca4451" url="https://x.com/svenskfotboll/status/2070564174732632097" social-type="twitter" /][h2]New holes in the defence[/h2][p]Sweden's defensive issue was plain for all to see against the Netherlands, whose first three goals all came by spreading the ball out to the wingers, who played low crosses along the "corridor of uncertainty", in between the back three and goalkeeper to provide easy tap-ins for the strikers.[/p][p]The back line managed to prevent Japan doing the same, but the goal [i]Samurai Blue[/i] scored still left a lot to be desired. Much was made of the Japanese move, which saw [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/doan-ritsu/WUWvT7l3/"]Ritsu Doan[/a] combine wonderfully with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ueda-ayase/8Ssd0upn/"]Ayase Ueda[/a] in the middle before threading the ball through for Maeda to slot home.[/p][p]As clinical as the move was, questions had to be asked of [b]the Swedish defence, who did not get tight enough to Ueda, did not go with Doan and left a chasm right in the heart of their back line for Maeda to saunter into.[/b][/p][p]If it's a case of Potter's side being able to plug gaps out wide [i]or [/i]through the middle, but not both, they will have next to no chance of progressing past the Round of 32, where [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/germany/ptQide1O/"]Germany[/a] or [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/france/QkGeVG1n/"]France[/a] lie in wait.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/soccer/world/world-championship/"]Follow Sweden at the FIFA World Cup on Flashscore.[/a][/b][/p]