Kristoffer Olsson: a playmaker who breaks the Swedish mould in midfield

09-Jun-2021 11:00:49 | Guardian

The small, technically gifted creator is now a trusted starter in rigid 4-4-2 system despite an up-and-down career to date

This article is part of the Guardian’s Euro 2020 Experts’ Network, a cooperation between some of the best media organisations from the 24 countries who qualified. theguardian.com is running previews from two countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 11 June.

When Kristoffer Olsson got his chance to start for the national team few believed he could or would take it. A small and technically gifted playmaker in central midfield? For Sweden? A team that built their relative success (quarter-finalists in Russia 2018) on a risk-minimising collective effort.