Filip Forsberg inspired Sweden to global glory when he scored the decisive goal against Switzerland to secure the 2018 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship gold medal.
Now the NHL star is hoping that Sweden’s men’s football team will follow suit at the FIFA World Cup 2026™, with Graham Potter’s men preparing to take on Japan, Netherlands and Tunisia in the group stage.
The Nashville Predators winger is a massive football fan, supporting Liverpool since he was a young boy. He is also a minority owner of his local Major League Soccer team, Nashville SC.
Forsberg spoke to FIFA about his World Cup memories growing up, watching Sweden at Russia 2018 and the growth of football in the United States over the past decade.
Filip Forsberg: It’s special for sure. When you grow up, you follow your local team but the big thing is you then follow the national team at the Winter Olympics and world championships. And then you start dreaming about representing your country in one of those tournaments. I’ve been fortunate to do that on a couple of occasions and hopefully a few more to come before I pack it in. I still remember the first time I put the jersey on… it’s very special.
It was funny… I was watching the first half [at home] and somehow I blanked and booked a haircut appointment in the second half. I propped [my device] up on the mirror and thankfully my hairdresser, who I’ve been going to for a long time, understands my fanhood. She was great and she was into it too. It was a nailbiter until the end but it was awesome. With the start to qualifying that they had, no one expected that to happen but we won two games and that’s all that matters.
All of a sudden there is hope when you look at the group. The Netherlands are the clear-cut favourites but after that I think it’s fairly even. Japan have some great players and I don’t know a whole lot about Tunisia… but the Japan game is going to be crucial and who knows maybe then can go on [to the knockout rounds].
I’m working on it. We’re definitely trying to make it work.
We went to Russia… about seven of us went to Sochi to see Sweden v Germany. It was unbelievable. In the last minute Toni Kroos bent the ball around the wall to win it for Germany with a free-kick but up until then it was an unbelievable experience.
The first World Cup I really paid attention to was [Korea/Japan] 2002. Sweden had a good team [and reached the round of 16]. That’s when you really fall in love with the game, seven/eight years old and running around in the field with your friends and replaying the match you just watched. Then 2018 is probably my favourite one, we went to one of the games and Sweden made it to the quarter-finals and ran into England. But that tournament is my favourite based on the success and also being able to go.
It started because my dad was a fan and he became a Liverpool fan, I think, to spite his dad who was a Manchester United fan! I ended up following in my dad’s footsteps and got my first jersey when I was five, six years old… a Robbie Fowler No9 jersey. We kept watching together and when my dad turned 50 we went to Anfield for the first time. We saw Liverpool beat Arsenal 4-0, which was unbelievable because my brother is an Arsenal fan! So that one worked out, it was a double win for sure! I’ve been to three or four matches since, including the Champions League final in Paris where they lost to Real Madrid [in 2022], and I also saw them in pre-season in South Carolina of all places.
It started with me re-signing for [the Predators, in 2022 until 2029/30]. Up until then Nashville were playing in the [USL] and were building interest in soccer before going up to MLS. I was really into that and the owner Jon Ingram made note of that and reached out to ask if I wanted to be part of it. It was nothing to think about, I jumped right at it. When it comes to my role, I’m more of an ambassador. I sit with Jon Ingram and our CEO Ian Ayre at games and get to learn a ton from sitting with them.
It’s been really cool to see. When I first came [to Nashville], people barely knew the game and what it was. To get an MLS team in town, you could tell there was a lot of interest but not a lot of knowledge. Once the team started doing well, knowledge grew and interest started spiking and now we’re selling out games. A huge part is [Lionel] Messi coming to MLS to the league as well, getting arguably the best player of all time in the league. You can see him pretty much anywhere in the country so he is spreading the greatness of the game.
We’re just getting started – the league has got a ton more competitive since the five years I’ve been involved. Thomas Muller is here now [with Vancouver Whitecaps] and players in our team, Hany Mukhtar and Sam Surridge, came from Europe and they’re making a great impact on the team and the city as well. I’m really excited about that and hopefully we can keep growing as much as possible.
