Sweden national football team records and statistics explained

The following is a list of the Sweden men's national football team's competitive records and statistics.

Honours

Competition				Total
World Cup	0	1	2	3
	0	0	1	1
Olympic Games	1	0	2	3
Nations League	0	0	0	0
Total	1	1	5	7

Major titles

• FIFA World Cup
  • Runners-up (1): 1958
  • Third place (2): 1950, 1994
  • Fourth place (1): 1938
• UEFA European Championship
  • Semi-finals (1): 1992
• Olympic football tournament
  • Gold Medal (1): 1948
  • Bronze Medal (2): 1924, 1952

Minor titles

• Nordic Football Championship
  • Winners (9): 1933–36, 1937–47, 1948–51, 1952–55, 1956–59, 1960–63, 1964–67, 1968–71, 1972–77

Individual records

Player records

See main article: List of Sweden international footballers.

^[1]

Players in bold are still active with Sweden.

Most capped players

Rank	Player	Caps	Goals	Career
1		148	21	1999–2013
2		143	0	1981–1997
3		133	10	2008–2021
		133	0	2002–2016
5		131	16	2001–2016
6		122	62
7		117	8	2000–2012
8		116	1	1986–2000
9		115	0	1963–1978
10		109	7	1993–2008

Top goalscorers

Rank	Player	Goals	Caps	Average	Career
1	(list)	62	122
2		49	43		1923–1932
3		43	33		1942–1948
4		37	106		1993–2009
5		32	57		1940–1958
6		31	83		1990–2000
7		30	74		1999–2008
8		29	60		1991–1997
9		27	47		1990–1995
		27	51		1957–1967

Age-related records

Age-related records of the Sweden men's national football team.^[2]

Oldest player: 41 years, 5 months and 21 days – Zlatan Ibrahimović (0–3 against Belgium on 24 March 2023)

Youngest debutante: 17 years, 2 months and 11 days  – Gunnar Pleijel (5–2 against Finland on 22 October 1911)

Oldest debutante: 34 years, 9 months and 1 day – Stendy Appeltoft (3–0 against Finland on 28 August 1955)

Longest national career: 22 years, 1 month and 24 days – Zlatan Ibrahimović (from 31 January 2001 until 24 March 2023)

Oldest goalscorer: 37 years, 11 months and 26 days – Gunnar Gren (two goals in a 4–4 draw against Denmark on 26 October 1958)

Youngest goalscorer: 17 years, 3 months and 22 days – Alexander Isak (one goal in a 6–0 win against Slovakia on 12 January 2017)

Manager records

Competition records

Champions   Runners-up   Third place   Fourth place   Tournament held on home soil  

FIFA World Cup

See main article: Sweden at the FIFA World Cup.

FIFA World Cup record										Qualification record
Year	Round	Position
1930	Did not enter									No qualification
1934	Quarter-finals	8th	2	1	0	1	4	4		2	2	0	0	8	2
1938	Fourth place	4th	3	1	0	2	11	9		3	2	0	1	11	7
1950	Third place	3rd	5	2	1	2	11	15		2	2	0	0	6	2
1954	Did not qualify									4	1	1	2	9	8
1958	Runners-up	2nd	6	4	1	1	12	7		Qualified as hosts
1962	Did not qualify	5	3	0	2	11	5
1966	4	2	1	1	10	3
1970	Group stage	9th	3	1	1	1	2	2		4	3	0	1	12	5
1974	Second round	5th	6	2	2	2	7	6		7	4	2	1	17	9
1978	Group stage	13th	3	0	1	2	1	3		4	3	0	1	7	4
1982	Did not qualify	8	3	2	3	7	8
1986	8	4	1	3	14	9
1990	Group stage	21st	3	0	0	3	3	6		6	4	2	0	9	3
1994	Third place	3rd	7	3	3	1	15	8		10	6	3	1	19	8
1998	Did not qualify									10	7	0	3	16	9
2002	Round of 16	13th	4	1	2	1	5	5		10	8	2	0	20	3
2006	Round of 16	14th	4	1	2	1	3	4		10	8	0	2	30	4
2010	Did not qualify	10	5	3	2	13	5
2014	12	6	2	4	21	18
2018	Quarter-finals	7th	5	3	0	2	6	4		12	7	2	3	27	9
2022	Did not qualify									10	6	0	4	13	8
2026	To be determined									To be determined
Total	Best: Runners-up	12/22	51	19	13	19	80	73		141	86	21	34	280	129

UEFA European Championship

See main article: Sweden at the UEFA European Championship.

UEFA European Championship record										Qualification record
Year	Round	Position
1960	Did not enter									Did not enter
1964	Did not qualify	6	2	3	1	8	7
1968	6	2	1	3	9	12
1972	6	2	2	2	3	5
1976	6	3	0	3	8	9
1980	6	1	2	3	9	13
1984	8	5	1	2	14	5
1988	8	4	2	2	12	5
1992	Semi-finals	3rd	4	2	1	1	6	5		Qualified as hosts
1996	Did not qualify									8	2	3	3	9	10
2000	Group stage	14th	3	0	1	2	2	4		8	7	1	0	10	1
2004	Quarter-finals	7th	4	1	3	0	8	3		8	5	2	1	19	3
2008	Group stage	10th	3	1	0	2	3	4		12	8	2	2	23	9
2012	Group stage	11th	3	1	0	2	5	5		10	8	0	2	31	11
2016	Group stage	20th	3	0	1	2	1	3		12	6	4	2	19	12
2020	Round of 16	10th	4	2	1	1	5	4		10	6	3	1	23	9
2024	Did not qualify									8	3	1	4	14	12
Total	Best: Semi-finals	7/17	24	7	7	10	30	28		122	64	27	31	211	123

UEFA Nations League

UEFA Nations League record
Season	Division	Group	width=28		width=28		width=28		width=28		width=28		width=28		width=35		width=28
2018–19	B	2	4	2	1	1	5	3		16th
2020–21	A	3	6	1	0	5	5	13		14th
2022–23	B	4	6	1	1	4	7	11		30th
Total			16	4	2	10	17	27	14th

Olympic Games

Football at the Summer Olympics was first played officially in 1908. The Olympiads between 1896 and 1980 were only open for amateur players. The 1984 and 1988 tournaments were open to players with no appearances in the FIFA World Cup. After the 1988 Olympics, the football event was changed into a tournament for U23 teams with a maximum of three older players. See Sweden Olympic football team for competition record from 1984 until present day.

Olympic Games record										Qualification record
Year	Round	Position
1908	Fourth place	4th	2	0	0	2	1	14		No qualification
1912	Round of 16	9th	2	0	0	2	3	5		No qualification
1920	Quarter-finals	6th	3	1	0	2	14	7
1924	Third place	3rd	5	3	1	1	18	5		No qualification
1928	Did not enter									No qualification
1936	Round of 16	9th	1	0	0	1	2	3
1948	Champions	1st	4	4	0	0	22	3		No qualification
1952	Third place	3rd	4	3	0	1	9	8		No qualification
1956	Did not enter	Did not enter
1960
1964	Did not qualify									2	0	1	1	2	6
1968	Did not enter	Did not enter
1972
1976
1980
Total	1 title	7/15	21	11	1	9	69	45		2	0	1	1	2	6

Nordic Football Championship

Nordic Football Championship record
Year	Round	Position
1924–28	Runners-up	2nd	10	6	1	3	31	19
1929–32	Runners-up	2nd	12	6	1	5	35	31
1933–36	Champions	1st	12	7	2	3	31	22
1937–47	Champions	1st	12	9	0	3	41	16
1948–51	Champions	1st	12	7	2	3	36	22
1952–55	Champions	1st	12	8	4	0	44	14
1956–59	Champions	1st	12	9	2	1	45	17
1960–63	Champions	1st	12	7	3	2	24	10
1964–67	Champions	1st	12	5	4	3	22	14
1968–71	Champions	1st	12	10	2	0	32	10
1972–77	Champions	1st	12	8	2	2	24	9
1978–80	Runners-up	2nd	6	3	0	3	7	6
1981–85	Runners-up	2nd	6	3	1	2	7	4
2000–01	Fifth place	5th	5	1	2	2	3	4
Total	9 titles	14/14	147	89	26	32	382	198

Minor tournaments

Minor tournaments record
Tournament	Round	Position
1939 DBU 50 years	Semi-finals	3rd	1	0	0	1	0	1
1947 FBF 40 years	Winners	1st	2	2	0	0	11	2
1952 NFF 50 years	Runners-up	2nd	2	1	0	1	3	3
1954 SvFF 50 years	Winners	1st	2	2	0	0	9	0
1957 FBF 50 years	Winners	1st	2	1	1	0	5	1
1981 Lahti Cup	Runners-up	2nd	2	1	0	1	5	4
1988 Maspalomas	Winners	1st	2	2	0	0	5	1
1988 West Berlin	Winners	1st	2	1	1	0	3	1
1989 DBU 100 years	Runners-up	2nd	2	1	0	1	2	7
1991 Scania 100	Third place	3rd	2	1	0	1	6	3
1994 Joe Robbie Cup	Winners	1st	2	1	1	0	3	1
1994 Nordic Cup	Winners	1st	2	1	0	1	2	1
1995 Umbro Cup	Third place	3rd	3	0	2	1	5	6
1996 Carlsberg Cup	Winners	1st	2	1	1	0	2	1
1997 King's Cup	Winners	1st	4	3	1	0	6	1
2001 King's Cup	Winners	1st	4	2	2	0	9	3
2003 King's Cup	Winners	1st	4	3	1	0	12	4
2004 Carlsberg Cup	Third place	3rd	2	1	0	1	3	3
2011 Cyprus Cup	Runners-up	2nd	2	1	1	0	3	1
2013 King's Cup	Winners	1st	2	1	1	0	4	1
Total	12 titles		46	26	12	8	98	45

Head-to-head records

The following table shows Sweden's all-time international record.^[3] The abandoned match against Denmark on 2 June 2007 here counts as a draw.

Statistics updated as of 19 November 2024.

Against								Win %
	6	4	1	1	11	5	+6	%
	5	4	1	0	11	1	+10	%
	3	1	1	1	6	6	0	%
	1	1	0	0	3	1	+2	%
	5	1	2	2	2	2	0	%
	39	13	6	20	56	62	−6	%
	6	5	0	1	18	4	+14	%
	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2	%
	1	1	0	0	4	0	+4	%
	5	5	0	0	16	2	+14	%
	17	5	3	9	31	27	+4	%
	1	1	0	0	4	2	+2	%
	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1	%
	15	2	3	10	17	35	−18	%
	16	11	2	3	31	11	+20	%
	1	0	1	0	2	2	0	%
	2	0	1	1	2	3	−1	%
	3	2	1	0	6	2	+4	%
	2	0	2	0	2	2	0	%
	2	1	0	1	2	2	0	%
	6	2	0	4	7	8	−1	%
	1	1	0	0	8	0	+8	%
	6	5	1	0	19	3	+16	%
	4	2	2	0	7	5	+2	%
	16	3	4	9	21	36	−15	%
	110	47	21	42	189	179	+10	%
	6	2	1	3	8	9	−1	%
	2	0	1	1	2	3	−1	%
	4	2	0	2	10	3	+7	%
	24	7	9	8	31	37	−6	%
	3	0	0	3	2	18	−16	%
	22	19	3	0	68	17	+51	%
	5	4	1	0	11	1	+10	%
	91	69	11	11	299	96	+203	%
	23	6	5	12	23	34	−11	%
	2	1	0	1	1	2	−1	%
	38	13	9	16	63	72	−9	%
	1	0	0	1	1	12	−11	%
	9	3	3	3	20	10	+10	%
	46	17	11	18	79	91	−12	%
	17	12	3	2	39	18	+21	%
	1	1	0	0	3	1	+2	%
	12	7	4	1	26	9	+17	%
	25	7	7	11	25	28	−3	%
	3	1	0	2	3	3	0	%
	2	1	1	0	2	1	+1	%
	5	1	3	1	7	7	0	%
	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	%
	2	2	0	0	3	0	+3	%
	3	3	0	0	7	0	+7	%
	17	11	4	2	54	12	+42	%
	4	4	0	0	10	1	+9	%
	5	5	0	0	22	3	+19	%
	6	5	1	0	16	1	+15	%
	1	1	0	0	3	1	+2	%
	13	13	0	0	49	2	+47	%
	11	6	3	2	13	6	+7	%
	9	9	0	0	24	4	+20	%
	3	2	1	0	6	3	+3	%
	1	1	0	0	4	1	+3	%
	25	8	6	11	48	47	+1	%
	2	2	0	0	5	2	+3	%
	3	1	2	0	6	2	+4	%
	3	3	0	0	4	1	+3	%
	7	3	1	3	7	10	−3	%
	111	60	25	26	284	155	+129	%
	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	%
	3	1	1	1	4	4	0	%
	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	%
	28	15	4	9	59	41	+18	%
	21	7	6	8	31	30	+1	%
	3	2	1	0	8	2	+6	%
	11	5	3	3	17	14	+3	%
	12	6	3	3	24	12	+12	%
	29	10	10	9	37	47	-10	%
	4	4	0	0	22	0	+22	%
	3	2	1	0	6	3	+3	%
	12	6	1	5	19	14	+5	%
	1	0	0	1	1	2	−1	%
	5	1	0	4	3	11	−8	%
	1	1	0	0	5	0	+5	%
	9	5	4	0	16	5	+11	%
	4	2	2	0	4	1	+3	%
	3	1	1	1	4	2	+2	%
	5	3	2	0	18	3	+15	%
	18	4	6	8	18	27	−9	%
	29	11	7	11	47	42	+5	%
	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	%
	5	4	1	0	13	4	+9	%
	2	1	1	0	5	0	+5	%
	4	2	1	1	3	2	+1	%
	12	3	4	5	14	15	−1	%
	5	1	1	3	4	6	−2	%
	2	1	0	1	3	2	+1	%
	8	4	0	4	13	10	+3	%
	3	2	0	1	6	3	+3	%
	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1	%
	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2	%
	7	6	1	0	16	3	+13	%
	11	4	2	5	17	19	−2	%
Total	1109	548	233	328	2207	1452	+755	%

Matches not counted as international matches by FIFA

This is a list of matches that the Swedish FA counts as official international matches, but not FIFA.^[4] All these matches are included in the table above.

• Sweden 1–6 England Amateurs (Gothenburg, Sweden; 8 September 1908)
• England Amateurs 7–0 Sweden (Kingston upon Hull, England; 6 November 1909)
• Sweden 1–5 England Amateurs (Solna, Sweden; 10 June 1914)
• Sweden 4–1 Norway (Tampere, Finland; 21 July 1952)
• Sweden 3–1 Austria (Helsinki, Finland; 23 July 1952)
• Hungary 6–0 Sweden (Helsinki, Finland; 28 July 1952)
• Sweden 2–0 Germany (Helsinki, Finland; 1 August 1952)
• Hungary 4–0 Sweden (Budapest, Hungary; 4 May 1963)
• Sweden 2–2 Hungary (Gothenburg, Sweden; 27 October 1963)
• Sweden 4–2 Norway (Lahti, Finland; 28 February 1981)
• Sweden 4–0 United States (Jönköping, Sweden; 23 February 1984)
• Romania 0–2 Sweden (Bangkok, Thailand; 9 February 1997)
• Sweden 1–0 Denmark (La Manga, Spain; 31 January 2000)
• South Africa 1–1 Sweden (Nelspruit, South Africa; 22 January 2011)
• Cyprus 0–2 Sweden (Nicosia, Cyprus; 8 February 2011)
• Qatar 0–5 Sweden (Doha, Qatar; 23 January 2012)
• Sweden 1–1 (4–1 p) North Korea (Chiang Mai, Thailand; 23 January 2013)
• Sweden 3–0 Finland (Chiang Mai, Thailand; 26 January 2013)
• Sweden 0–1 Finland (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; 19 January 2015)
• Sweden 1–1 Estonia (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; 6 January 2016)
• Finland 0–3 Sweden (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; 10 January 2016)
• Sweden 1–2 Ivory Coast (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; 8 January 2017)
• Sweden 6–0 Slovakia (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; 12 January 2017)
• Sweden 1–1 Estonia (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; 7 January 2018)
• Sweden 1–0 Denmark (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; 11 January 2018)-->

References

1. Web site: Mamrud . Roberto . Sweden - Record International Players . RSSSF.
2. Web site: Henke blir äldste utespelaren . Fotbollskanalen. 19 August 2012. sv.
3. Web site: Sveriges motståndare. 8 July 2019. sv.
4. Web site: Sweden: Fixtures and Results. https://web.archive.org/web/20150407061131/http://www.fifa.com/world-match-centre/teams/country=swe/matches/index.html. dead. April 7, 2015. FIFA. 15 January 2016. sv.