Sweden has become the second nation to announce its squad for the World Cup, and head coach Graham Potter delivered a major surprise: there is no place for Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder Hugo Larsson, 21. Despite being valued at €32 million, the second-most valuable Swedish player to miss the tournament, Larsson is not injured, unlike Tottenham’s Dejan Kulusevski (€35M).
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“He received a call that he was not included, and Hugo is completely devastated. He was with the team the whole time, but now he won’t be,” a source close to the situation told Fotbollskanalen. Larsson has earned 12 caps since his debut in January 2023, but injuries have repeatedly prevented him from playing a key role. Potter, who took over in October, included Larsson in the World Cup playoff squad but did not use him.
After joining Frankfurt from Malmö FF for €9 million in the summer of 2023, Larsson made an immediate impact. He became a key player and attracted interest from top clubs like Liverpool, Manchester City, and Real Madrid. Last summer, both sides opted against a transfer, hoping Larsson could further increase his value. However, like the entire Eintracht team, the Swede has endured an inconsistent season, pushing the anticipated €50-60 million fee further out of reach.
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The World Cup snub could lead to another drop in Larsson’s market value. After reaching a high of €40 million, his value fell to €32 million in the March update. The next update on May 27 might bring another downgrade.
In the market value analysis, Transfermarkt users are largely pessimistic. One user, “RayJason,” wrote: “He plays regularly, but I haven’t seen a game where he really stood out or made a difference. He started the season well in his first two games but has clearly dropped off since. Against Leipzig, he provided an assist, but defensively it was far from convincing. Being only 21 doesn’t help much when performances aren’t consistent enough to justify such a high market value. Other clubs are watching how a player performs, which also affects the price.”
Another user, “Adler83,” added: “Overall, I agree. The season has been weak, and I don’t see any stabilization in the last games. Where I disagree is your statement that being 21 means little. It does. Interested clubs look not only at current form but also at what has been achieved (and that was very good for two years), potential (still very good), and for his age, he already has a lot of experience nationally and internationally…”
Unlike Larsson, three Bundesliga players made Potter’s 26-man squad: defenders Daniel Svensson (24, Borussia Dortmund) and Eric Smith (29, St. Pauli), and midfielder Mattias Svanberg (27, Wolfsburg). The squad is captained by Victor Lindelöf (31, Aston Villa). The most valuable players all come from the Premier League: Alexander Isak (26, Liverpool), Viktor Gyökeres (27, Arsenal), Anthony Elanga (24, Newcastle), and Lucas Bergvall (20, Tottenham) combine for a total of €245 million. Kiel right-winger Alexander Bernhardsson (27) also made the cut from the 2. Bundesliga, while Barcelona’s Roony Bardghji (20) misses out.
This will be Sweden’s 13th World Cup appearance. After narrowly missing out on the Qatar tournament in the playoffs against Poland (0-2) four years ago, the Scandinavians secured their spot this time. Despite finishing last in Group B of the World Cup qualifiers without a single win, Sweden earned a playoff spot by winning Nations League C. Under new coach Potter, they defeated Ukraine (3-1) and Poland (3-2) to book their ticket. In the tournament hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the USA, Sweden will face Tunisia on June 15 in their opening Group F match. Their other group opponents are the Netherlands (June 20) and Japan (June 24).
