Sweden national under-21 football team


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The Sweden national under-21 football team is the football team representing Sweden in competitions for under-21 year old players and is controlled by the Swedish Football Association. Primarily, it competes to qualify for the biennial UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

Sweden Under-21
Nickname(s)Blågult (The Blue-Yellow)
AssociationSvenska Fotbollförbundet (SvFF)
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachDaniel Bäckström
CaptainOliver Dovin
Most capsOscar Hiljemark (37)
Top scorerCarlos Strandberg
Ola Toivonen (13)

First colours

Second colours

First international
 Denmark 3–2 Sweden 
(Esbjerg, Denmark; 22 June 1952)
Biggest win
 Sweden 10–0 Armenia 
(Lublin, Poland; 13 October 2020)
Biggest defeat
 Ukraine 6–0 Sweden 
(Kyiv, Ukraine; 31 May 2012)
UEFA U-21 Championship
Appearances9 (first in 1972)
Best resultChampions (2015)

Sweden made their first European Under-21 Championship appearance in 1986. In 2015, Sweden became champions for the first time.[1] They finished second in 1992 and they also reached the semi-finals in 1990 and 2009.[2] Oscar Hiljemark is the most capped player for the Swedish U21 team, having played 37 caps between 2011 and 2015. Ola Toivonen and Carlos Strandberg are the top goalscorers for the Swedish U21 team, having scored 13 goals each.

  Champions    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place  0000 Tournament held on home soil  

 
Sweden national under-21 football team celebrating in June 2015, after winning the 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

UEFA European U-21 Championship

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UEFA European Under-21 Championship record UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
1972 Quarter-finals 6th 2 1 0 1 2 3 4 3 0 1 8 2
1974 Did not qualify 4 2 1 1 6 5
1976 4 2 1 1 6 6
1978 4 1 1 2 6 8
1980 4 0 1 3 1 4
1982 4 1 1 2 3 6
1984 4 2 1 1 10 4
1986 Quarter-finals 6th 2 0 1 1 2 3 6 4 1 1 7 3
1988 Did not qualify 6 1 4 1 6 6
1990 Semi-finals 3rd 4 2 1 1 7 4 6 4 2 0 10 2
1992 Runners-up 2nd 6 3 1 2 4 4 6 4 2 0 17 3
  1994 Did not qualify 10 4 4 2 21 8
  1996 8 5 1 2 15 4
  1998 Quarter-finals 6th 3 1 0 2 3 3 10 9 0 1 30 6
  2000 Did not qualify 8 2 0 6 7 15
  2002 12 6 4 2 22 10
  2004 Fourth place 4th 5 3 1 1 11 7 10 5 3 2 20 14
  2006 Did not qualify 10 6 0 4 16 12
  2007 4 3 0 1 8 6
  2009 Semi-finals 3rd 4 2 1 1 12 7 Qualified as hosts
  2011 Did not qualify 10 6 2 2 17 10
  2013 12 7 1 4 20 14
  2015 Champions 1st 5 2 2 1 7 4 10 6 1 3 24 17
  2017 Group stage 9th 3 0 2 1 2 5 10 7 3 0 24 7
   2019 Did not qualify 10 6 2 2 19 8
   2021 9 5 0 4 28 12
   2023 10 5 3 2 22 8
  2025 To be determined 8 4 2 2 22 5
Total 1 title 9/27 34 14 9 11 50 40 203 110 41 52 395 205

The following 23 players have been called up for the 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification matches against Gibraltar and Moldova on 6 and 10 September 2024, respectively.[3]

Caps and goals updated as of 10 September 2024.

The following 45 players are still eligible for the U21 team (i.e. born in 2002 or later) and have previously been called up to the squad.

Players with most caps and goals

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Updated as of 7 June 2018. Note that the matches played by Sweden Olympic football team in 1992 and 2016 are included here, as the Swedish Football Association recognizes them as Under-21 matches.

Top 10 most capped players

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Oscar Hiljemark holds the record for most appearances made for the team, having 37 caps.
# Player Career Caps Goals
1 Oscar Hiljemark 2011–2015 37 4
2 Alexander Farnerud 2002–2006 36 12
3 Jonny Rödlund 1990–1993 35 11
4 Simon Tibbling 2012–2017 33 2
5 Magnus Johansson 1990–1993 32 0
6 Mikael Dorsin 2000–2004 31 1
Mattias Bjärsmyr 2005–2009 31 0
8 Johan Elmander 2000–2004 30 12
Tommy Jönsson 1995–1998 30 2
Sven Andersson 1981–1986 30 0
 
Ola Toivonen, with 13 goals is the team's joint top goalscorer with Carlos Strandberg, Toivonen being the first to reach the tally.
# Player Career Goals Caps
1 Carlos Strandberg 2015–2018 13 18
Ola Toivonen 2006–2009 13 28
3 Pär-Olof Ohlsson 1972–1977 12 19
John Guidetti 2010–2015 12 23
Johan Elmander 2000–2004 12 30
Alexander Farnerud 2002–2006 12 36
7 Mikael Ishak 2012–2016 11 27
Jonny Rödlund 1990–1993 11 35
9 Niklas Skoog 1994–1995 10 14
10 Tord Grip 1958–1961 9 10
Lasse Larsson 1982–1987 9 10
  1. ^ "EM-guld efter straffdrama!" (in Swedish). Svenskfotboll. Archived from the original on 1 July 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  2. ^ "EM-sorti på straffar efter mirakelvändning" (in Swedish). Svenskfotboll. Archived from the original on 29 June 2009. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  3. ^ "Truppen till EM-kvalmatcherna i september" (in Swedish). Swedish Football Association. 28 August 2024. Retrieved 28 August 2024.