St Petersburg — Shorn of a superstar since Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s retirement, Sweden were not expected to make it to the World Cup — but now they are within reach of a first quarterfinal for 24 years. After eliminating the Netherlands and Italy in qualifying, Sweden played their part in sending defending champions Germany home early by topping Group F with victories over South Korea and Mexico. In keeping with his squad, no-frills coach Janne Andersson is not a big name, having spent his entire playing and coaching career in his homeland. But the 55-year-old is credited with creating the collective spirit that has helped Sweden thrive despite a lack of standout individual talent. "Sweden are definitely thriving as a collective right now, the like of which we have not seen since 1994," when they reached the World Cup semifinals, Swedish football journalist Kristopher Karlsson told AFP. "Its been a perfect storm for Sweden with Zlatan finishing his international career and Janne Anderss...
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