Spurs star Kulusevski’s World Cup dream over after being left out of Sweden squad

Spurs star Kulusevski’s World Cup dream over after being left out of Sweden squad

Dejan Kulusevski will not be going to the World Cup this summer having been left out of Graham Potter’s 26-man Sweden squad.

The Tottenham attacker has been out for over a year with a patella injury he suffered in Spurs’ loss against Crystal Palace in May 2025 and is yet to return to full training with his club, however the forward had expressed hope of playing at the World Cup this summer.

“The World Cup is the driving force I have,” Kulusevski had said “To have that opportunity is absolutely fantastic. It’s a challenge that I haven’t been able to overcome so far in terms of getting healthy, but it’s not over yet. Now the second game starts.

“That’s how it has to end. Otherwise, it hasn’t gone as I planned. I’m absolutely convinced that we’ll win these two games and I’ll be ready to play and play my first World Cup in the USA. That’s how the movie will end, God willing.”

Sweden boss Potter explained why he made the decision to leave out the 26-year-old, however.

“A very, very difficult decision in ⁠terms of where he (Kulusevski) has been, what he’s done over the last year, where he’s at in terms of his ​rehab with four and a half weeks to go to that first game,” Potter said.

“Once those games ​start, you’re not really in a place where you can start playing in big areas, spaces and then be able to work. So it’s very, very difficult to get up to where we need them to be, and so you have to make a very tough ​decision.”

His club manager Roberto De Zerbi also voiced his concerns about Kulusevski playing in the World Cup after playing no football all season for his club, when asked about it before Spurs’ draw with .