Explosive device 'goes wrong' at stadium hosting World Cup team - forcing stunned players to practice in front of a mangled stand

By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2026-06-25 14:53:25 | Updated at 2026-06-25 16:14:10 1 hour ago

By MAX WINTERS, US DEPUTY SPORTS EDITOR

Published: 14:10 BST, 25 June 2026 | Updated: 15:43 BST, 25 June 2026

The Swedish World Cup squad was given a terrifying scare in training on Wednesday when a nearby explosive device 'went wrong'.

Graham Potter's team are currently training at the home of Major League Soccer franchise FC Dallas, who are based in Frisco, Texas.

But the team's Toyota Stadium is currently undergoing reconstruction work and those on the site attempted to carry out a controlled explosion.

However, the device reportedly malfunctioned and the structure that was being demolished fell the wrong way towards the pitch.

Fortunately nobody was injured in the incident and Sweden were able to continue training as normal. 

National team manager Stefan Pettersson said: 'They were trying to demolish something, and it looks like it fell in the wrong direction. Luckily, no one was hurt.

An explosive device 'went wrong' at the stadium the Swedish World Cup are using in Texas

Work is ongoing at Toyota Stadium and there was a controlled explosion on Wednesday

But the building reportedly fell the wrong way and ended up on top of one of the stands

The Swedish squad were still able to train as usual ahead of their upcoming match with Japan

'They probably used an explosive device, and then something went wrong. We can use the entire pitch and all other areas as usual.'

Speaking about the incident, defender Besfort Zeneli added: 'I just thought "What happened? As far as I know, there wasn't a storm." How did the collapse occur then?'

Remarkable pictures from the training session show the remains of the building on top of seats that fans would normally sit in during FC Dallas games.

The Swedish squad could be seen going through their session as usual, with the remains of the demolished building in the background.

Sweden currently sit third in Group F, one point behind Japan and the Netherlands with one game left to play.

Alexander Isak and his teammates take on Japan in their final group game with a spot in the tournament's knockout stage up for grabs.

The Swedes followed ​up their opening 5-1 win over Tunisia with a loss by the same scoreline ​to the Dutch to sit in third in Group F, one point behind ⁠both the Netherlands and Japan. 

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