Sweden’s national team can qualify for the World Cup despite a disastrous qualifying round. The Scandinavians won the semi-final playoff against Ukraine.
Through the back door to the World Cup: This path could lead to success for the Swedish national team. After the deserved 3:1 (1:0) against Ukraine in the playoff semi-finals of the World Cup qualification, coach Graham Potter’s team will be in the final against Poland next Tuesday (8.45 p.m.).
It was the evening of striker Viktor Gyökeres, who scored all three goals (6, 51, 73) for the Swedes. Matviy Ponomarenko only managed the late 1:3 (90th).
Wins against weak opponents
This clear success for the Swedes is so extraordinary because the team had a disastrous qualification. The team remained winless in Group B and finished last with just two points. There were only two draws against Slovenia. Why were the Scandinavians still allowed to play in the playoffs?
The Swedes played in the Nations League C in 2024 against comparatively weak opponents (Slovakia, Estonia, Azerbaijan), got 16 points from six games and thus won the group. For this reason they were allowed to compete in the playoffs – and seem to be taking advantage of this minimal chance.
Gyökeres makes the difference
The Ukrainians’ elimination is all the more annoying for the team because they couldn’t get past the unbeaten French in qualifying and thus missed out on a direct World Cup ticket. They had to go through these playoffs in second place – and of all things, they didn’t have momentum on their side in the decisive game against the Swedes.
The big difference in this semi-final was Gyökeres. The Arsenal FC attacker had a brilliant day. The 27-year-old made ice-cold use of his chances that evening at the Estadio Ciudad de Valencia – and almost single-handedly sealed the fate of the Ukrainians.
