Per Kamperin is a banking professional in Stockholm. Outside of his professional career he is also passionate about sports and following his local teams including the Sweden national football team.
The World Cup is one of the most popular and widely viewed sporting events in the world. Every four years, the men’s national teams from the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) compete in a thrilling and heart-stirring tournament for the hopes of earning the championship title.
Sweden has achieved great success throughout the history of the World Cup, reaching the semi-finals four times and earning second place in the 1958 World Cup. Sweden’s national team as made 11 World Cup appearances. Here are some of the highlights:
1934 World Cup
Sweden made its first appearance at the 1934 World Cup in Italy. This was the second FIFA World Cup; the first taking place in 1930.
1938 World Cup
After beating Cuba 8-0 in the quarter final match, Sweden moved on to the semi-final match where they lost 1-5 against Hungary. Sweden ended up in fourth place for the first and only time in Swedish football history.
1950 World Cup
Professional Swedish football players were not allowed to partake in the 1950 FIFA World Cup under the ruling of the Swedish football association. Therefore, Sweden had to send a group of amateur players to compete in the tournament. Sweden finished third in their group. Being the best placed European team, Sweden was considered the “unofficial European champions”.
1958 World Cup
Sweden was the host nation for the 1958 FIFA World Cup. The team took second place after losing 5-2 to Brazil.
1970 World Cup, 1974 World Cup, 1978 World Cup
The Swedish team had great success in the 70’s, competing in three consecutive World Cups.
1990 World Cup
Sweden broke their losing streak winning their qualification group for the 1990 World Cup. This was the first World Cup the team participated in in 12 years.
1994 World Cup
Sweden took third place in the 1994 FIFA World Cup, the highest the team had finished in a World Cup playoff since 1958. They were the top scorers of the tournament with a total of 15 goals.
2002 World Cup
For the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Sweden was part of the Group of death of which they came out on top. However, Sweden would end up being eliminated in the round of 16, losing to Senegal in sudden death.
2006 World Cup
The Swedish national team featured players who played club football in eleven different nations. Sweden finished second in its group and advanced to the second round, where they were eliminated, suffering a 2-0 defeat to the host team, Germany.
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