Sweden won against Romania but showed both strengths and weaknesses

Being in a build-up phase, doing very well but also getting a lot of reminders about what needs to be fixed - while three points trickle into the account.

It's a perfect mix.

The match showed how good Sweden can be and it showed the team's mistakes and shortcomings. It was a night with a beautiful goal, several warning lights and above all:

Three points.

Because at the end of the day – as they say in football Swedish – football is always about winning. Graham Potter has often pointed it out this week.

Between summer and autumn, between the WC and the Nations League, the national team captain has also been asked several times:

What needs to be improved in your game?

He has primarily talked about sealing the defense.

Then he sent out a team so offensively balanced that it repeatedly came close to tripping over its exuberance.

Graham Potter's start as national team captain was a short and intense road to the World Cup. It consisted of sealing gaps, building a quick foundation with superglue and silver tape and hoping it would hold and that Viktor Gyökeres would dunk some balls.

It held.

It may well look different already against Poland on Monday.

Now, for the first time, Potter gets to build in the longer term and this offensive 4-4-2 setup should be interpreted more as something for the here and now than a given symbol of the future.

Potter was missing centre-backs Isak Hien and Gustaf Lagerbielke. That made it a four-back line in a strongly forward-leaning starting eleven.

This is how offensively Sweden wants to look against a lower ranked team, it may well look different against Poland on Monday.

It was an attacking left wing with Elliot Stroud behind Sebastian Nanasi and the offensively oriented Yasin Ayari and Lucas Bergvall forming the central midfield.

Sweden started really well but one problem was that it should have given more clear scoring chances early on.

A bigger problem was the large green expanses that arose between Sweden's straight midfield and the two stars Isak and Gyökeres at the top.

From there, Romania were able to get into the game and create chances. It was too easy. It was a warning light that came on.

The defensive lock of the midfield was nothing for the security-hungry. With Bergvall and Ayari, you get smart passes, quick ball transports and opening attacking solutions.

Ayari continues to grow as a key Swedish player. Having Bergvall next to him is a brave future investment by Potter.

For now though, the duo can create an incipient ulcer when opponents have the ball.

The clearest product declaration of what it was for Sweden that was on the pitch in Solna.

After just under half an hour, we received within a few seconds the clearest product declaration of what Sweden was on the pitch in Solna.

Sweden broke, Alexander Isak accelerated from midfield, was impossible to stop and got a chance to shoot. Hesitating. Tried to lob over a defender instead. He failed but the crowd cheered. It was fun.

Romania rescheduled and then it was off. Emil Holm pushed himself away completely in the middle of Romania's half and suddenly it was man-on-man in the penalty area and that duel was easily won by Dennis Man against Victor Nilsson Lindelöf.

1–1. And so Graham Potter's national team had not kept a clean sheet this time either.

The goal was not unfair but very unnecessary.

In the interview I did with Potter the other week, he talked about wanting Sweden to have more possession of the ball higher up the pitch. If the ball was lost, the opponents would not be so close to Sweden's goal. A fairly simple football logic.

Now Sweden often had the ball high up.

But then it was too easy for Romania to get down to Viktor Johansson's goal for too long.

It cannot be taken for granted that the offense sits as well as it did at times.

This is no luxury rant.

That has to get better if Sweden is to take the next step and do well against better teams.

Because it cannot be taken for granted that the offense is as good as it was at times this Friday against Romania.

The Swedish attacks in the first half were fast and difficult to stop and Alexander Isak slid around and back and forth as he wanted.

The attack that ended 1-0 was as beautiful as it was effective.

Bergvall pushed the ball forward to Ayari, who released Isak with a deep pass. The attack that ended 1-0 was as beautiful as it was effective.

Bergvall's heavy shot from a corner at the end of the half went out to Viktor Gyökeres and he pushed Sweden into a 2–1 lead.

In the second half, Sweden pushed up even more players in the offensive.

What did it bring? Wider pressure, better balance and tighter defensively. Romania had less space to create its transitions.

Elliot Stroud looked to close the game with a neat goal. Instead, it was the start of a sad moment in Solna. Stroud's goal was disallowed. The VAR people had scrolled back and back and back and lo and behold, there was a little hand.

And soon came the next bang. Emil Holm was carried out on a stretcher. That man's misery will never end.

Holm missed the WC at the last moment and is now forced to step off this national team trip when it has just started to roll.

It shouldn't have to feel anxious for so long.

Graham Potter wanted to see a positive and courageous Sweden.

This Sweden was brave in its offensive.

It was fun to see the speed of the attacks.

But it shouldn't have to feel anxious for so long. Sweden was better than Romania and should have won bigger.

But of course, big wins also only give three points.

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