Graham Potter says he may have been bitten after Sweden’s World Cup opener

Graham Potter says someone might have bitten him during Sweden romp

Sweden boss Graham Potter suffered a strange injury (Picture: Getty Images) Graham Potter got off to a dream start with Sweden at the World Cup, but said he might have been bitten after being left with a bloodied ear. Potter was brought in to rescue a dreadful qualifying campaign from Sweden and he got them to the World Cup, where they began their campaign in Monterrey against Tunisia on Sunday. It could scarcely have gone any better as Yasin Ayari (2), Alexander Isak, Viktor Gyokeres and Mattias Svanberg scored in a 5-1 romp over the African side. There are tricky tests to come against Netherlands and Japan, who drew 2-2 on Sunday, but Sweden are not in a strong position to reach the knockout stages. It's finally here Get everything you need to know about the World Cup – England updates, the games to watch and stories you missed – in five minutes, at 1pm, every day. Sign up here. Amid the celebrations there was some confusion, though, as Potter appeared to be bleeding from his right ear. The former Chelsea, West Ham and Brighton boss did not sound too bothered about it, but says he may have been bitten by someone! ‘I don’t know what happened. Someone scratched me, or bit me. I’ll have to analyse the video footage,’ he said, via Swedish publication Sportbladet. Potter had blood on his ear as he congratulated Mattias Svanberg (Picture: FIFA via Getty Images) Potter was pleased that his potentially deadly strike partnership of Isak and Gyokeres has started the tournament well. ‘I think it was a fantastic evening for us, a fantastic start,’ he said. ‘A solid performance that allowed Alex and Viktor to show their qualities, which they did. We were defensively solid, got goals from midfield and had good substitutions. ‘I’m happy for the players. They’ve worked hard in recent weeks and made strides. All credit to them. As a coach you know when the team is developing, but you also have to win. We weren’t perfect, but we knew we wouldn’t be. A statement start for Sweden 🇸🇪Yasin Ayari bags a brace for his country in style 💫 pic.twitter.com/dxvM3gqH4Y— ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 15, 2026 ‘I was a little disappointed with the goal we conceded, but that’s what can happen. We were mature in the second half, especially considering we lack experience from the World Cup.’ This is a remarkable turnaround for Sweden after they failed to win a game in their qualification group, finishing bottom behind Switzerland, Kosovo and Slovenia. A play-off thanks to the Nations League gave Sweden a chance to qualify and they beat both Ukraine and Poland to make it to the main event. Viktor Gyokeres and Alexander Isak were both on the scoresheet (Picture: Getty Images) ‘We just focus on what we can do, we focus on our performances,’ Potter said after the Tunisia win. ‘It doesn’t matter what people think from the outside or opinions. ‘That’s the beauty of the World Cup everyone has predictions and forecasts but we have to focus on our job and how we play as a team. ‘We will meet another top team at the weekend who are one of the favourites for the competition.’ Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source

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World Cup coach defends £63million Arsenal star – ‘he’s obviously had a fantastic season’

Graham Potter is masterminding Sweden’s World Cup campaign (Picture: Getty) Graham Potter has launched a staunch defence of Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres as he prepared to make his World Cup bow. The Sweden international ended his maiden season in English football witha creditable 21 goals in all competitions following his £63million move from Sporting Lisbon. Despite that respectable total, the 28-year-old failed to convince everyone he had solved Mikel Arteta’s long search for a goalscorer capable of finally filling the void created when he sanctioned the departure of Pierre- Emerick Aubameyang. Indeed, by the end of Arsenal’s first title-winning campaign in 22 years, Gyokeres had found himself largely playing second fiddle to Kai Havertz who started in both the Carabao Cup and Champions League finals. It's finally here Get everything you need to know about the World Cup – England updates, the games to watch and stories you missed – in five minutes, at 1pm, every day. Sign up here. With Arsenal heavily linked with further attacking reinforcements this summer, Gyokeres willy likely face another battle to reassert himself as the club’s main centre forward. For his country, however, Gyokeres remains an integral part of Potter’s plans, even if he can’t guarantee he will be able to fit both he and Liverpool’s record signing Alexander Isak in the same team. Speaking ahead of Sweden’s World Cup opener against Tunisia on Monday, the former West Ham and Chelsea manager said: ‘He’s obviously had a fantastic season,” Potter said. ‘We want to use him to his best, try and get the most out of him. Because if we do, then he gives us a chance to win football matches. That’s for sure.’ Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres are in contention to feature for Sweden at the World Cup (Picture: Getty) Gyokeres has already proven his worth to Potter on several occasions, most notably with his play-off hat-trick against Ukraine before scoring the goal that secured World Cup qualification against Poland. Whether the team will be geared up to get the best out their divisive striker, particularly with Isak back to full fitness, however, remains to be seen. Potter added: ‘You want to ask all the players to do things that they’re good at and play to their strengths and show their quality,” he said. Sweden begin their World Cup campaign against Tunisia (Picture: Getty) ‘If we get our players showing their qualities, then I think we’ve got a good chance to win football matches.’ Asked whether his two star forwards could function together in the same starting XI, he added: ‘The team is the biggest strength. Of course, within the team, there are individuals that, if we can get them to play to their highest level, they can make the difference for us. ‘But if we just put Victor and Alex out there and there isn’t a functioning team behind them, it isn’t easy to win football matches.’ Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source

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