{"id":250075,"date":"2026-06-26T01:56:32","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T01:56:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/26\/clean-sheet-confirmed-fans-back-sweden-star-to-shine-against-japan-in-fifa-world-cup-clash\/"},"modified":"2026-06-26T01:56:32","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T01:56:32","slug":"clean-sheet-confirmed-fans-back-sweden-star-to-shine-against-japan-in-fifa-world-cup-clash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/26\/clean-sheet-confirmed-fans-back-sweden-star-to-shine-against-japan-in-fifa-world-cup-clash\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;Clean sheet confirmed&#8221; &#8211; Fans back Sweden star to shine against Japan in FIFA World Cup clash"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-content\" data-postid=\"5183951\" data-slug-id=\"2799926\">\n<div class=\"vidazoo-player-container\">\n<span class=\"vidazoo-close-btn  hidden \"><br \/>\n<img data-lazy=\"\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/cmc-predictor\/v2\/cross-icon.png?w=40\" width=\"20\" height=\"20\" alt=\"close\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Fans are thrilled to see goalkeeper Widell Zetterstr\u00f6m in Sweden\u2019s starting XI for the final group game of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/go\/fifa-world-cup\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">2026 FIFA World Cup<\/a> clash against Japan.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/team\/sweden-football\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">Sweden national team<\/a> boss Graham Potter made three changes to his team that started their last outing \u2013 a 5-1 defeat to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/team\/netherlands-football\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">the Netherlands<\/a>. In addition to Zetterstr\u00f6m, Elliot Stroud and Anthony Elanga are the other two players handed their first starts of this World Cup.<\/p>\n<p><template id=\"template__newsletter-inline-banner-form-combo-widget\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<p><img id=\"subscribe-img\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\nThanks for the submission!\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/template><\/p>\n<p><template id=\"also-read-articles-template\"><\/p>\n<p><\/template><\/p>\n<p>The Blue and Yellow are currently third in their group, trailing the Netherlands and Japan by one point. They will have to defeat the Samurai Blue to secure automatic qualification for the Round of 32.<\/p>\n<p>Following their humiliating defeat to the Oranje, Potter decided to change his custodian, bringing in Zetterstr\u00f6m for Kristoffer Nordfeldt, who was in goal in their opening two matches. Zetterstr\u00f6m\u2019s inclusion in the starting line-up thrilled several fans, who took to X (formerly Twitter) to express their excitement.<\/p>\n<p>A fan wrote:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cSWEDENS NUMBER ONE.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Another tweeted:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cYes JWZ \ud83e\udd0d\ud83d\udda4\ud83d\udc0f\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>A third remarked:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cFinally a good goalkeeper.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cJWZ &#8211; Clean sheet confirmed,\u201d one claimed.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Sweden are one of the eight best third-placed team heading into this clash.<\/p>\n<p><strong> Sweden&#8217;s starting eleven:<\/strong> 1 Jacob Widell Zetterstr\u00f6m (mv), 2 Gustaf Lagerbielke, 3 Victor Nilsson Lindel\u00f6f (K), 4 Isak Hien, 5 Gabriel Gudmundsson, 9 Alexander Isak, 11 Anthony Elanga, 17 Viktor Gy\u00f6keres, 18 Yasin Ayari, 21 Alexander Bernhardsson, 24 Elliot Stroud.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Substitutes:<\/strong> 6 Herman Johansson, 7 Lucas Bergvall, 8 Daniel Svensson, 10 Benjamin Nygren, 12 Viktor Johansson (mv), 13 Ken Sema, 14 Hjalmar Ekdal, 15 Carl Starfelt, 16 Jesper Karlstr\u00f6m, 19 Mattias Svanberg, 20 Eric Smith, 22 Besfort Zeneli, 23 Kristoffer Nordfeldt, 25 Gustaf Nilsson, 26 Taha Ali.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>\u201cHas been very good in our training\u201d \u2013 Potter on Zetterstr\u00f6m\u2019s inclusion in Sweden\u2019s starting XI to face Japan<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Potter explained his decision to name Zetterstr\u00f6m as a starter for Thursday\u2019s clash against Japan. During a media appearance ahead of kick-off, Potter said the shotstopper is coming off a \u2018fantastic season\u2019 and has been impressive in training.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cHe has had a fantastic season and has been very good in our training. All players have different qualities and we believe Jacob&#8217;s qualities can contribute and help us in this match,\u201d said Potter.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/team\/brighton-hove-albion\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">Brighton &amp; Hove Albion<\/a> boss also praised Japan, calling them a very organised side.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cJapan is a difficult opponent who has a strong team. Japan are a very good opponent. A well-organized team and our mission is to improve on what we did against the Netherlands and hopefully we can disrupt them with our own attacking play,\u201d he added.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Sweden have a rich history in the World Cup, with the 2026 edition marking their 13th appearance at the tournament.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-post-rating-widget\">\n<p><template id=\"post-rating-feedback-modal-template\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-rating-feedback-feedback-box\">\n<div class=\"post-rating-feedback-content\">\n<div class=\"post-rating-feedback-data\">\n<p>Why did you not like this content?<\/p>\n<p><textarea id=\"dislike-feedback-text\" rows=\"4\" placeholder=\"Please type your feedback...\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n<button class=\"close\">Cancel<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"submit\">Submit<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/template><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-rating-widget-parent hidden\">\n<div class=\"rating-parent-container\">\n<div class=\"rating-content-holder\">\n<p>Was this article helpful?<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-rating-action-container\">\n<div class=\"like-container\">\n<button class=\"post-rating-like-button post-rating-button\" data-action=\"like\" title=\"like article\"><br \/>\n<img class=\"post-like-image post-rating-image\" data-lazy=\"\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/like-articles\/upvote-icon-grey.svg\" height=\"20\" width=\"20\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"like selected\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dislike-container\">\n<button class=\"post-rating-dislike-button post-rating-button\" data-action=\"dislike\" title=\"dislike article\"><br \/>\n<img class=\"post-dis-like-image post-rating-image\" data-lazy=\"\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/like-articles\/upvote-icon-grey.svg\" height=\"20\" width=\"20\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"avatar selected\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\nThank You for feedback\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tag-cloud\">\n<div class=\"tags-text\">\n<div class=\"scrollable-content-holder  article-padding\">\n<p class=\"article-p  \">Quick Links<\/p>\n<p><button id=\"pnAdvancerLeft\" class=\"pn-Advancer pn-Advancer_Left \" type=\"button\"><br \/>\n<img style=\"background: none;\" data-lazy=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/skm\/assets\/article\/article-scroll-left.svg\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button><\/p>\n<nav id=\"pnProductNav\" class=\"pn-ProductNav\">\n<\/nav>\n<p><button id=\"pnAdvancerRight\" class=\"pn-Advancer pn-Advancer_Right \" type=\"button\"><br \/>\n<img style=\"background: none;\" data-lazy=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/skm\/assets\/article\/article-scroll-right.svg\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<p>More from Sportskeeda<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n<span class=\"publisher-name\">Edited by Ezekiel Olamide<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/football\/news-clean-sheet-confirmed-fans-back-sweden-star-shine-japan-fifa-world-cup-clash\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fans are thrilled to see goalkeeper Widell Zetterstr\u00f6m in Sweden\u2019s starting XI for the final group game of the 2026 FIFA World Cup clash against Japan. Sweden national team boss Graham Potter made three changes to his team that started their last outing \u2013 a 5-1 defeat to the Netherlands. In addition to Zetterstr\u00f6m, Elliot [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":250076,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6806],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-250075","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-gossip"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=250075"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250075\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/250076"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=250075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=250075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=250075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}