Sweden head coach Graham Potter has leapt to the defence of Leeds United defender Gabriel Gudmundsson after his role in their 4-1 defeat against Switzerland.
Gabriel Gudmundsson has endured a torrid World Cup qualifying campaign with Sweden, who have failed to win any of their five games to date.
Graham Potter took over as interim manager on a short-term deal and was able to call on the Leeds defender after Gudmundsson suffered an injury scare in the build-up to the game.
However, Gudmundsson was powerless to prevent Sweden from suffering another humiliating defeat, as Switzerland secured a comfortable 4-1 victory.
Now, the Leeds United defender has been defended by his national team coach, after his mistake led to the Swiss penalty that put them 2-1 up.
Leeds United defender Gabriel Gudmundsson backed by Graham Potter
Despite the criticism of Gudmundsson in the press, Sweden’s manager leapt to the defence of the Leeds United defender after the game.
Speaking via Sportbladet, Potter said mistakes happen in football, and he will support his defender. The Sweden boss stated: “It’s part of football.
“Mistakes happen, and we win and lose as a team. He’s had a tough week dealing with an injury. It hasn’t been easy, but he’s an honest player. He wants the team to play well. It’s part of life, and we move on and support him.”
This was backed by Johansson, who was more direct in his expletive-laden defence. He said: “He shouldn’t have any s— at all. Absolutely not! Either I stand further out and remove it, or I think the referee should do something different.”
Gabriel Gudmundsson’s World Cup hopes hanging by a thread
Gudmundsson and his Swedish teammates have endured a hellish qualifying campaign, as they sit bottom of their qualifying group with just one game against Slovenia left to play.
However, their qualifying hopes are not over yet, as their Nations League status means they will enter the World Cup playoffs as one of the four best-performing teams in the Nations League who have not qualified by the group stages.
As a result, Sweden now have two play-off games to save their hopes of travelling to the World Cup in North America this summer.
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