Sweden’s automatic World Cup qualification in limbo after shock defeat to Georgia
Sweden were an absolute joy to watch at Euro 2020. The Blue and Yellows surprised everyone on their way to the Round of 16 at the tournament.
It's fair to say that Janne Andersson's side has continued from where they left off, as they have been in great form in the FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers. They beat Spain in September, while victories over Kosovo and Greece in October saw them rise to the top of their group.
Sweden are still in contention to qualify for Qatar 2022. But a disappointing 2-0 defeat at modest Georgia saw them cede top spot in Group B to Spain with one Round of games remaining.
😱 Georgia🇬🇪 shock Sweden to win back-to-back World Cup qualifiers for the first time since September 2001.
It was not the best return of #Zlatan to his national team... ❌
#Qatar2022 https://t.co/pO3rL86bOZ
Georgia shock Sweden
Perhaps Andersson's side underrated the Georgians who, before Friday, had won just one game in the ongoing qualifying campaign.
Against a team ranked 93rd in the world, Sweden were always going to be the favourites. However, the home side pulled a shock result, winning 2-0 on the night. And it wasn't as if they played against a fringe Swedish team. Andersson named a strong line-up, starting with the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Alexander Isak, Emil Forsberg and Victor Lindelof.
The Blue and Yellows dominated possession, but were punished for their profligacy in front of goal. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored two second-half goals to claim a surprise victory for Georgia.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored a brace for the Georgian national team, which beat Sweden - 2:0 ✌🏻🔥
Huge from our phenom! 💪 https://t.co/qWfekzuwH8
Sweden's automatic qualification in limbo
Sweden's defeat to Georgia, coupled with Spain's 1-0 win over Greece on the night, means La Roja have now moved to the top of the table.
That leaves Andersson's side at risk of missing automatic qualification to the World Cup. That's because the runner-up in each group will have to qualify through the playoffs.
“It is an extremely heavy loss of course. And it is clear that we must score on our chances. I cannot blame the guys themselves, but it's clear we'll make the first goal. And we will not leave here without scoring a goal,” Andersson said after the defeat, as quoted by Swedish portal SVT.
The Sweden manager rued his team's profligacy in the attacking third, saying:
“We did not do well enough, and therefore we did not win this match, or take points. We created enough to take the lead in this match, with both one and two goals. But we can say that Georgia are pretty good. Spain decided their match here in the closing seconds, and Georgia are a team with individual skill, and today they showed that.”
Sweden are currently a point behind Spain. They will now need to beat La Roja in their final group game to usurp them to top spot. That, though, could've been avoided had the Blue and Yellows beaten Georgia. Now they face a real possibility of dropping to the playoffs, and they can only blame themselves for that.