Sweden will go to a major tournament without the 11-time Swedish Player of the Year, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, for the first time in 16 years. Team manager Janne Andersson resisted the urge of attempting to bring Zlatan out of retirement despite great public and media pressure to do so. He will instead keep faith in those who got the country to Russia. This Swedish team is a bit different from recent squads.  In Emil Forsberg, Sweden has a player who is sublime on the ball a can control a game. Most good things from Sweden's attack will tend to come from the number 10, who has already led the Bundesliga in assists. Victor Lindelof, Ludwig Augustinsson, John Guidetti and Isaac Thelin have all tasted international success with the national team before. The four were members of Sweden's 2015 U21 European Championship winning team. Lindelof has since gone on to win multiple Portuguese Championships with Benfica before earning a mega-million dollar move to Manchester United. John Guidetti, who was part of Manchester City's youth set-up is now attached to Celta Vigo in Spain. Guidetti is a unique character whose determination upfront is always contagious. Ludwig Augustinsson was outstanding in his debut Bundesliga season with Werder Bremen and it won't be long until he leaves for greener pastures, especially after cementing the left back position with the national team. Isaac Thelin is in great form after he finished as the top scorer in the Belgium First Division. These players along with regular contributors like Sebastian Larsson and Andreas Granqvist will ensure that the post-Zlatan era is not as miserable as once thought.

Head Coach: Janne Andersson

Population: 10 million

Appearances: 12

Best: Runners-up 1958

How they Qualified: With Zlatan's retirement and less quality on paper than France or the Netherlands Sweden were rank outsiders to qualify for Russia.  Qualification wasn't smooth. The Swedes lost three times, but Holland did as well. It was Sweden's ability to rack up the goals against weaker opposition and a home win against the highly favoured French that eventually made the difference. 

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Star Players: Emil Forsberg(RB Leipzig), Victor Lindelof(Manchester United), Marcus Berg(Al-Ain), Andreas Granqvist(Krasnodar), Ludwig Augustinsson(Werder Bremen)

Wildcard: Ola Toivonen-Toivonen didn't score a single league goal for Toulouse this season but the national team always sticks by the player. With 3 goals and 5 assist in qualifying it is not hard to see why. Sometimes frustrating for Swedish supporters as some prefer other options, Toivonen can show why he one of Janne Andersson's most reliable men in Russia.

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Legend: Zlatan Ibrahimovic