Sweden clinched a narrow win via a classic play off-match against Austria in a snowy Gelsenkirchen, and advanced to the World Cup finals in Germany.

During the World Cup, the team released Vi är svenska fotbollsgrabbar, a fight song written by Georg Ericson.

But since Poland beat Yugoslavia 2–1, Sweden had to win the game against the host nation, West Germany, in order to finish second in the group.

After the successful 1970s, reaching all three World Cups, Sweden changed their coach from Georg "Åby" Ericson to Lars "Laban" Arnesson.

They failed to qualify for the UEFA Euro 1984, despite defeating the then-reigning world champions Italy 3–0 in Naples, including two goals by Glenn Strömberg, but were unable to prevail against Romania in the battle for the top spot, losing both away and at home against the Tricolours.

Sweden lost their match against Czechoslovakia with 1–2 in the final qualifying round, while Portugal unexpectedly won 1–0 away against West Germany and took second place in the group.

However, the World Cup campaign ended quickly after three 1–2 defeats in the group stage matches, against Brazil, Scotland and Costa Rica.

In the first knockout-stage match, Sweden faced Saudi Arabia in the extreme heat and humidity of Dallas, where the game started at the hottest time of day- 4:30 p.m. where temperatures went past 40C (104F) in an outdoor stadium.

After Sweden had scored late in the second half, Romania managed to equalise in the dying minutes of the match, sending it into extra time.

Sweden started the World Cup slowly, recording a goal-less draw on 10 June in Dortmund against unheralded Trinidad and Tobago, despite playing with a one-man advantage for most of the game.

The second game, against Paraguay on 15 June in Berlin, looked to be another goal-less draw until Freddie Ljungberg scored with a header in the 89th minute to give Sweden a 1–0 victory.

On 24 June, Sweden's World Cup run came to an end with a 2–0 defeat to the host nation, Germany in Munich, after two early goals by Lukas Podolski.

Defender Teddy Lučić was controversely sent off by referee Carlos Simon, who was captured laughing while holding up a questionable red card.

In their first match in Euro 2008 on 10 June, they beat the reigning European champions, Greece, by a score of 2–0 with goals from Zlatan Ibrahimović and Petter Hansson.

Sweden's Euro 2012 campaign with their new coach, Erik Hamrén, started well with two consecutive wins in Group E against Hungary and San Marino.

Zlatan Ibrahimović scored a spectacular flying volley early in the second half and Sebastian Larsson sealed a meaningless 2–0 win during stoppage time.

A notable result during group play was their match in Germany on 16 October 2012 where they fought back from 4–0 down with 30 minutes remaining to draw the game 4–4 at the Olympiastadion, and was widely regarded as one of the most memorable comebacks in football history.

As a result, they tied with the Netherlands in points, and claimed second place behind eventual world champions France on goal difference.

On 13 November 2017, Sweden qualified for the 2018 World Cup after a 0–0 draw away to Italy at the San Siro during the second leg of their qualification play-off match.

At the 2018 World Cup, Sweden started its campaign by a 1–0 win over South Korea in the first match on 18 June, through a penalty goal by Andreas Granqvist, decided by the new VAR technology.

With 15 seconds remaining on the five stoppage time minutes, Toni Kroos won the game for Germany by scoring a free kick from just outside the penalty area, after a foul by Jimmy Durmaz.

The two wins meant promotion for Sweden to League A and a guaranteed play-off spot for the UEFA Euro 2020, should they not qualify directly via the regular qualification process.

The draw for the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying saw Sweden placed in Group F with Spain, Norway, Romania, Faroe Islands and Malta.

The win meant that Sweden had secured second place in the group and a spot at UEFA Euro 2020, their sixth consecutive European championship.

With his 117th appearance, Ibrahimović officially became Sweden's oldest player of all time at the age of 39 years, five months and 22 days, taking over Thomas Ravelli's record from 11 October 1997.

[29] On 29 March, Sweden lost 2–0 to Poland at the Stadion Śląski due to goals from Robert Lewandowski and Piotr Zieliński and thus failed to qualify for the World Cup.

[31][32][33][34] Their terrible Nations League form meant that Sweden realistically must qualify directly for UEFA Euro 2024 by finishing in the top two.

[39][40][41][42] On 26 February 2024, the Swedish FA announced that former Danish player Jon Dahl Tomasson has been appointed as manager of the Sweden national team, effective from 1 March 2024.

In the qualification for UEFA Euro 2008, Sweden were awarded a 3–0 win away against Denmark after a Danish fan invaded the pitch and attacked the referee.

Win Draw Loss Fixture The following 23 players were called up for 2024–25 UEFA Nations League matches against Slovakia and Azerbaijan on 16 and 19 November 2024, respectively.