Graham Potter proves he is no cowboy and has the tools to prove FA wrong

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On the opening day of this World Cup, ITV presenter Semra Hunter confused Graham Potter for Gareth Southgate. Easily done. But maybe the slip was subconsciously linked to the fact that less than two years ago, Potter was strongly fancied to succeed Southgate as England manager.

Southgate had stepped down a couple of days after the Euro 2024 final defeat to Spain and Potter had been on a sabbatical after his relatively brief, ill-fated spell with Chelsea. There was not exactly a proliferation of English candidates for the gig and Potter had some strong support inside the Football Association.

After all, no manager’s reputation gets mortally damaged by an unsuccessful stint at Stamford Bridge. But the FA fell for the allure of a big-name foreign manager and, six months later, Potter would end up at West Ham, where things went even less successfully than they did at Chelsea.

A solid reputation that had been built in Swedish club football and at Swansea and at Brighton appeared to have crumbled. But Potter had that solid reputation for a reason.

And while it is was one game against a team ranked 56th in the world, Sweden’s 5-1 demolition of Tunisia has been one of the outstanding performances of the World Cup so far. Potter was appointed Sweden boss back in October but could not stop them finishing bottom of their qualifying group.

But they reached the play-off path courtesy of their Nations League ranking and then took care of Ukraine and Poland to get to the finals. The Swedish Football Association was so impressed, they gave Potter a deal until 2030.

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Considering the talent they have at their disposal, Sweden should not have been at the low ebb which saw them turn to Potter. Their line-up against Tunisia - who might be lowly ranked but did not concede a goal in qualifying - was spearheaded by the attacking partnership of Liverpool’s Alexander Isak and Arsenal’s Viktor Gyokeres, who both opened their World Cup accounts.

And Potter was able to bring on players of Premier League quality, such as Spurs' Lucas Bergvall and Newcastle’s Anthony Elanga. It goes without saying that a handsome tournament-opening victory helps, but there appeared to be a great bond between the Swedish players and Potter in the aftermath of the win in Monterrey.

And perhaps Potter is relishing this chance because it is, essentially, a labour of love. Let’s face it, the 51-year-old coach does not NEED to work again. He was paid £13million in compensation by Chelsea and £5million by West Ham.

Potter spent seven and a half years at Ostersund, taking the club through the Swedish divisions. Ahead of the tournament, he spoke about ‘feeling Swedish’.

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“I even look a bit Swedish,” he laughed. Well, Potter actually looked a lot Swedish after the thumping of Tunisia and will be full of confidence going into Saturday’s meeting with the Netherlands.

In that match, Isak versus Virgil van Dijk is a mouthwatering prospect. With Isak - fully fit and with only a few club miles on the clock last season - and Gyokeres at his disposal, Potter can take the Swedes further than a lot of people might predict.

And maybe then - if Tuchel has not produced the World Cup goods - the English FA might have another look at him. Because while he might wear the hat, Potter is clearly no cowboy.