Graham Potter got off to a dream start as Sweden manager at the World Cup, but the former Chelsea boss says he might have been bitten after being left with a bloodied ear. Potter was brought in to rescue a dreadful qualifying campaign and led Sweden to the tournament, where they began their campaign in Monterrey against Tunisia on Sunday.
It could scarcely have gone better as Yasin Ayari (2), Alexander Isak, Viktor Gyokeres and Mattias Svanberg scored in a 5-1 romp over the African side. Tougher tests await against Netherlands and Japan, who drew 2-2 on Sunday, but Sweden are in a strong position to reach the knockout stages.
Potter's bloodied ear mystery
Amid the celebrations, Potter appeared to be bleeding from his right ear. The former Chelsea, West Ham and Brighton boss did not sound too bothered, but says he may have been bitten. 'I don't know what happened. Someone scratched me, or bit me. I'll have to analyse the video footage,' he told Swedish publication Sportbladet.
Strike partnership shines
Potter was pleased that his potentially deadly strike partnership of Isak and Gyokeres started the tournament well. 'I think it was a fantastic evening for us, a fantastic start. A solid performance that allowed Alex and Viktor to show their qualities, which they did. We were defensively solid, got goals from midfield and had good substitutions.'
'I'm happy for the players. They've worked hard in recent weeks and made strides. All credit to them. As a coach you know when the team is developing, but you also have to win. We weren't perfect, but we knew we wouldn't be.'
Remarkable turnaround
This is a remarkable turnaround for Sweden after they failed to win a game in their qualification group, finishing bottom behind Switzerland, Kosovo and Slovenia. A play-off thanks to the Nations League gave Sweden a chance to qualify and they beat both Ukraine and Poland to make it to the main event.
'We just focus on what we can do, we focus on our performances,' Potter said after the Tunisia win. 'It doesn't matter what people think from the outside or opinions. That's the beauty of the World Cup – everyone has predictions and forecasts but we have to focus on our job and how we play as a team.'
'We will meet another top team at the weekend who are one of the favourites for the competition.'
