Ex-Blackburn Rovers boss Jon Dahl Tomasson could be in line for EFL Championship return | OneFootball

Former Blackburn Rovers manager Jon Dahl Tomasson's job as Sweden's head coach is under threat

Former Blackburn Rovers manager Jon Dahl Tomasson has been dismissed from his role as Sweden's men's national team boss, with a 1-0 home defeat to Kosovo on Monday night all but confirming that Sweden will not be going to the 2026 World Cup.

Sweden can boast the likes of Viktor Gyokeres, Alexander Isak, Anthony Elanga, and Dejan Kulusevski in attack, Yasin Ayari and Lucas Bergvall in midfield, and the experienced Victor Lindelof shielding one of the Championship's best goalkeepers, Viktor Johansson.

Despite this, the nation is on the verge of crashing out of World Cup qualification, as they now need a minor miracle to stand a chance of heading to North America in 2026.

Having been led by former Blackburn boss Tomasson, Sweden have lost three and drawn one in their four World Cup qualification matches, putting them bottom of the group, six points behind Kosovo with two games to go and an inferior goal difference of four.

It was Monday night's 1-0 defeat to Kosovo, which has been the most damning loss of the lot, and the one that cost the Dane his job, as announced by the Sweden national team account on Tuesday afternoon.

Sweden will immediately be searching for a new manager to lead their final two games of World Cup qualification away to Switzerland and at home to Slovenia.

Jon Dahl Tomasson could return to the Championship sooner rather than later

Following Tomasson's sacking, a return to England's second tier could soon be on the cards.

The Dane helped Blackburn achieve a seventh-placed finish in his first season in charge at Ewood Park before leaving the club by mutual consent in February 2024, over an alleged dissatisfaction with transfer business.

He had been linked with the role at Middlesbrough this summer following the sacking of Michael Carrick, but Boro instead opted for the out-of-work Rob Edwards, who had helped guide Luton Town to promotion to the Premier League just a couple of years prior.

When asked about his links with the Middlesbrough job in a Sweden press conference, Tomasson said, "You can never guarantee anything in football. There are a lot of rumours in this business. Rumours are rumours. I can’t make any guarantees but I'm very happy here.

I've said it several times. I'm enjoying being here. I have a fantastic relationship with the federation and they're very happy with our performance so far. Rumours are rumours. It's part of the game."

With his situation looking ever more precarious on the international stage, a return to the Championship in some capacity cannot be ruled out.

A move to Middlesbrough would appear to be highly unlikely now, given Boro's excellent start under Edwards, though with managers usually only five bad results away from the sack, a vacancy in the second tier is sure to open up sooner rather than later, and Tomasson could be considered as an option.

Jon Dahl Tomasson had a good record as Blackburn Rovers manager before leaving under a cloud

Tomasson joined Blackburn in June 2022, and in his first season in charge at Ewood Park, he led Blackburn to a seventh-placed finish, landing just outside the play-off places on goal difference.

His second season wouldn't go nearly as well, as Rovers sat in 18th place with just two points in their last eight games. Tomasson was asked whether his side was in a crisis, to which he responded, "It's a very serious situation."

He would ultimately be sacked not long after and replaced by John Eustace, who helped to turn the club's form around following the Dane's departure.

After leaving Rovers, he told The Mirror, "In my first season with Blackburn, we defied budget cuts and only missed out on the play-offs on goal difference.

"It was the best Rovers league finish in more than a decade, and we also had the best cup run in even more years. I loved the people in and around Rovers, but before my second season, the budgets were cut even more brutally and suddenly it was not about building and developing.

"It was not the project anymore that I signed up to do and I asked to be allowed to leave. They did not want that, but finally, after the January transfer window they accepted it and I’m thankful for that."

Tomasson cited his reasoning for leaving Blackburn as down to not being able to make many manoeuvres in the transfer market, with the lack of investment made clearer following the £18 million sale of Adam Wharton to Crystal Palace.

The Dane left Rovers with a record of 41 wins, 13 draws and 36 losses in 90 games in charge at Ewood Park, and although his time in Lancashire hadn't ended the way anyone had hoped, he has proven he can get results in the Championship, even with a side under financial constraints.