Sweden finished bottom of their qualifying group and needed a UEFA Nations League (UNL) playoff lifeline to make it to the finals.
Potter started out from humble beginnings as a manager, going through the highs and lows of club football before finding himself on the cusp of his first World Cup game.
"If somebody had said to me when I started out coaching a bunch of students at Leeds Met University that I would end up via the fourth division in Swedish football here at the World Cup, of course I would have taken that journey. It's incredible," he told reporters on Saturday 13th.
"So now I'm just at a point where I'm super-grateful, super-grateful for the career I've had, for the life I've had, and to be here now."
Back in October, Potter was licking his wounds following his early-season sacking by then-Premier League side West Ham United when the Swedes came calling after sacking coach Jon Dahl Tomasson in the midst of a dismal qualifying campaign.
Knowing they had that UNL lifeline, Potter took the job and quickly set about simplifying how the Swedes played, ensuring that everyone knew their roles. The team delivered two playoff wins against Ukraine and Poland that saw them through to the finals, where they will meet Tunisia, Netherlands and Japan in Group F.
The meeting with the North African side will be Sweden's first on the global stage since a 2-0 defeat to England in the Quarter-finals of the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Fully fit squad with 'top class' strikers
Potter said all of his 26-man squad are fit and available for selection, something that was questionable leading up to the opening game as full-back Gabriel Gudmundsson missed a few days training will illness, but the Leeds United man is now ready to play.
It also means that Potter will be able to deploy the feared strike partnership of Viktor Gyokeres, who got the winner in the playoff against Poland, and Alexander Isak up front.
"I wouldn't replace them with anyone," Sweden captain Victor Lindelof said. "I'm really happy to have the two of them.
"I'm trying to go through in my mind what other countries, you know, there are (that have a similar partnership), but I think they are two top-class forwards, so it's amazing to have them on our team."
The pair will face a Tunisia defence that did not concede a goal in their qualifying group, but Potter said his team will be ready for that challenge.
"If we're not ourselves, then every game is difficult. But at the same time, if we play well ourselves and we focus on what we can do well, then we have a chance to win," he said.