Viktor Gyokeres sent Sweden to the 2026 World Cup as he netted a dramatic late winner to hand his country a 3-2 win over Poland in their play-off final on Tuesday.
With the match locked at two-apiece the Arsenal striker forced the ball over the line after a frantic goalmouth scramble with just two minutes remaining to qualify Sweden for the finals in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
They join the Netherlands, Japan and Tunisia in Group F.
“To do it on home soil is indescribable. We believed in it until the end and that’s why we’re in the World Cup,” Gyokeres, who scored a hat-trick in Sweden’s 3-1 semi-final victory against Ukraine, told Viaplay.
Anthony Elanga and Gustaf Lagerbielke had twice given Sweden the lead in Tuesday’s final, before Nicola Zalewski and Karol Swiderski hit back for Poland.
After missing out on the last edition in 2022, it is a return to football’s global showpiece tournament for Graham Potter’s side after eight years away.
After a disastrous qualifying campaign, Sweden qualified for the play-offs thanks to topping Group C1 in the Nations League.
“Unbelievable night. Wow, just to be part of that is an incredible honour,” Potter, who took over Sweden last October, told Sveriges Radio.
“It was a dramatic game, so difficult to control, the emotion and what’s at stake.”
For Poland, it was the first time they have failed to reach a World Cup finals since 2014.
Poland coach Jan Urban summed up the feeling afterwards by saying: “It hurts, it hurts a lot.”
The Swedes began in slightly nervous fashion in front of the fans in Stockholm as the Poles controlled the early tempo.
The breakthrough then came in spectacular fashion in the 20th minute as Yasi Ayari backheeled into the path of the onrushing Elanga who thrashed the ball home left-footed via the crossbar.
The visitors nearly levelled five minutes later as Swiderski’s swivelling volley forced a fine one-handed save from Kristoffer Nordfeldt.
Polish pressure eventually told on 33 minutes as Nordfeldt failed to deal with Zalewski’s curling effort after the 24-year-old had picked the ball up in space and cut in from the left.
Sweden were on the ropes since taking the lead with Poland targeting, in particular, their right flank.
The next goal was to come from that side of the pitch, however, it was in favour of the embattled hosts as Zalewski chopped down Elanga to concede a free-kick in a dangerous wide position.
Benjamin Nygren whipped in a teasing inswinger with his left foot and centre-half Lagerbielke ghosted in at the near post to nod past a stranded Kamil Grabara one minute before the interval. It was just Sweden’s second shot of the half.
Poland’s leading goalscorer Robert Lewandowski cut an frustrated figure on his 165th cap, and the Barcelona forward blazed over early in the second period when he might have been better flighting a cross in the box.
But his grimace soon changed to a relieved smile in the 55th minute when Zalewski snuck onto a Matty Cash cross at the back post and his miscued attempt to control the ball fell perfectly for Swiderski to tap home the leveller.
Both coaches shuffled their packs midway through the second half in a bid to find the decisive goal that would seal their side’s spot in the World Cup.
Just as a further 30 minutes seemed inevitable, the otherwise-quiet Gyokeres popped up to bundle across the line from close range at the end of a sequence of play which included a Grabara save from Lucas Bergvall and a Besfort Zeneli shot which came back off a post.
"(I felt like) I’m having some sort of out-of-body experience, to be honest,” Potter said. “I’m looking at the goal and then most of our bench is running onto the pitch, and I’m thinking: ‘Am I here?’
“It’s just one of those moments that I’m thankful for and that I’ll be forever grateful for.”
Poland piled forward desperately in reply but were unable to find a third leveller on the night as the referee signalled the end of the encounter and the start of the party in Stockholm.
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