Alexander Isak has been included in Sweden’s World Cup squad after recovering from a fractured leg, though Barcelona’s Roony Bardghji has been surprisingly left out.
Isak was out for around four months after injuring his fibula just before Christmas, meaning he missed Sweden’s victories over Ukraine and Poland in March’s play-offs.
In his absence, Viktor Gyokeres led the line and scored a hat-trick against Ukraine in the semi-finals, before providing the late winner in a 3-2 final victory over Poland.
Isak, who has 16 goals in 56 senior caps for his country, then missed Liverpool’s Premier League defeat to Manchester United earlier this month due to a minor groin issue, but Sweden are hopeful he will be fully fit for their first World Cup campaign since 2018.
He is one of the biggest names in Graham Potter’s 26-man party, alongside Arsenal striker Gyokeres, who has nine goals in his last 13 Premier League appearances.
But the former Chelsea boss has overlooked Bardghji, despite the 20-year-old making 26 appearances for Barcelona in all competitions this season (nine starts) and helping them retain the LaLiga title.
Dejan Kulusevski is another big-name absentee, though the Tottenham winger was not expected to make the cut after missing the entire 2025-26 season with a serious knee injury.
VM-truppen 2026 är här! #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/wUEkSbETF2
— Svensk Fotboll (@svenskfotboll) May 12, 2026
Potter said: “We have turned every stone and investigated the possibilities, and I have carefully considered the situation before making this decision, which was very tough.
“I have chosen a group that can stand strong together and in which the players get the best out of each other. A tournament is something different from an ordinary gathering.
“We are faced with other challenges over time that we need to handle together, and we build that capacity with the right mix of players, where everyone matters.”
Sweden will face Norway and Greece in pre-tournament friendlies before taking on Tunisia in their opening Group F match on June 14, in Guadeloupe.
They then face the Netherlands six days later, in Houston, before meeting Japan in Arlington, Texas on June 25.
Sweden squad: Kristoffer Nordfeldt (AIK), Viktor Johansson (Stoke City), Jacob Widell Zetterstrom (Derby County); Daniel Svensson (Borussia Dortmund), Victor Lindelof (Aston Villa), Isak Hien (Atalanta), Carl Starfelt (Celta Vigo), Elliot Stroud (Mjallby AIF), Gustaf Lagerbielke (Braga), Gabriel Gudmundsson (Leeds United), Emil Holm (Juventus), Hjalmar Ekdal (Burnley), Erik Smith (St. Pauli); Taha Ali (Malmo FF), Yasin Ayari (Brighton), Lucas Bergvall (Tottenham), Anthony Elanga (Newcastle United), Viktor Gyokeres (Arsenal), Jesper Karlstrom (Udinese), Gustaf Nilsson (Club Brugge), Benjamin Nygren (Celtic), Mattias Svanberg (Wolfsburg), Besfort Zeneli (Union Saint-Gilloise), Alexander Isak (Liverpool), Alexander Bernhardsson (Holstein Kiel), Ken Sema (Pafos).