Lagkamraterna samarbetar under spelet.

Swedish very often makes compound nouns, where English might use two words.

• lag = team
• kamrat = friend, companion, mate
• lagkamrat = teammate

Then:

• lagkamrater = teammates
• lagkamraterna = the teammates

So lagkamraterna is a compound noun plus a plural definite ending.

The ending -na is the definite plural ending here. It means the.

So:

• en lagkamrat = a teammate
• lagkamraten = the teammate
• lagkamrater = teammates
• lagkamraterna = the teammates

In Swedish, the definite article is often attached to the end of the noun instead of being a separate word like English the.

Because Swedish usually puts the onto the noun as a suffix.

So instead of saying something like the teammates, Swedish says lagkamraterna.

This is very normal in Swedish:

• boken = the book
• husen = the houses
• spelarna = the players

So lagkamraterna already includes the meaning of the teammates.

Samarbetar is the present tense of samarbeta, which means to cooperate or to work together.

• att samarbeta = to cooperate
• samarbetar = cooperate / are cooperating / works together, depending on context

A useful thing for English speakers: Swedish verbs do not change according to the subject in the present tense.

So you get:

• jag samarbetar = I cooperate / am cooperating
• du samarbetar = you cooperate / are cooperating
• de samarbetar = they cooperate / are cooperating

The verb form stays the same.

It can mean either, depending on context.

Swedish present tense often covers both:

• simple present: cooperate
• present progressive: are cooperating

So Lagkamraterna samarbetar under spelet could be understood as:

• The teammates cooperate during the game
• The teammates are cooperating during the game

English chooses between those forms more strictly than Swedish does.

Here under means during, not physically beneath something.

So:

• under spelet = during the game

Swedish under can be used in both ways:

• physical: under bordet = under the table
• time: under mötet = during the meeting

In this sentence, it is clearly the time meaning.

Spelet is the definite singular form of spel.

• ett spel = a game
• spelet = the game

So under spelet means during the game.

Using the definite form suggests a specific game already understood from the situation. That is very natural here.

Spel is a neuter noun in Swedish, so it takes ett in the indefinite singular.

Its basic forms are:

• ett spel = a game
• spelet = the game
• spel = games
• spelen = the games

That is why the sentence uses spelet, not something like spelen or spela.

This sentence uses the basic Swedish word order:

Subject + verb + adverbial

• Lagkamraterna = subject
• samarbetar = verb
• under spelet = time expression

So it is a very straightforward sentence: The teammates cooperate during the game.

Nothing unusual is happening with the word order here.

Yes, sometimes it could, depending on context.

The noun spel can mean things like:

• game
• play
• gameplay

So under spelet most naturally means during the game, but in some contexts it could feel closer to during play.

If this is about sports, during the game is usually the most natural English translation.

Yes, usually it does.

The verb samarbeta means cooperate / work together, so the idea of joint action is already built in. You do not need to add anything extra to show that the teammates are acting together.

That is why Lagkamraterna samarbetar already naturally means that the teammates are cooperating with one another or as a group.