Graham Potter insisted his Sweden side will “learn a lot” from their 5-1 thrashing at the hands of the Netherlands in Houston.
The English head coach opted to focus on the positives after a pummelling against Oranje that saw Anthony Elanga net a consolation goal after braces from Brian Brobbey and Cody Gakpo had put the Dutch in a commanding position.
Crysencio Summerville netted a fifth late on, with Sweden becoming the first team to have lost their second World Cup game by four goals after winning their opening match – 5-1 against Tunisia – by the same margin.
“Obviously [I’m] really disappointed. I thought we did lots of good things in the game,” Potter said.
“But obviously defensively you can’t concede that many and hope to win. But we’ll learn a lot from them. We’re playing against a good team.”
‘We have to accept it’
Potter, formerly of Brighton, Chelsea and West Ham, highlighted the spirit shown by his players, and insisted the defeat would be one his team would reflect on.
He added: “The boys kept going, in fairness to them, they kept going, but it was one of those things we’ll learn a lot from.
“Sometimes you have to have these experiences. I think it was that type of game. We have to accept it and learn from it.”
Next up for Sweden is a trip to Dallas to face Japan knowing that avoiding defeat would put Potter’s men in a great position to reach the last 32.
