Viktor Gyokeres may not have found the net during Sweden's Group B qualifying campaign for the FIFA World Cup 2026™, but he was undoubtedly their most crucial goalscorer en route to the global finals.
In 2024, the forward bagged a record nine from six UEFA Nations League matches, including a four-goal haul in a 6-0 trouncing of Azerbaijan, to see Sweden promoted to League B. Despite that success, the Blågult endured a dismal World Cup qualifying campaign during 2025, collecting two points and scoring just four times to finish bottom of the section.
Their exceptional Nations League campaign came to the rescue, however. Twelve of the 16 World Cup play-off places went to the runners-up of the qualifying groups, with the remaining four reserved for the best-ranked Nations League group winners that had not already finished in the top two during qualifying. That saw Northern Ireland, North Macedonia, Romania and Sweden handed a second chance.
Once there, Gyokeres ended a 492-day Sweden scoring drought by notching a hat-trick in the semi-final versus Ukraine, before bagging the 88th-minute winner to see them past Poland by three goals to two.
"I feel incredible, (I feel) proud. It's a lot of emotions to take in," Gyokeres said of his winner against Poland. "I'm grateful and I'm really pleased for myself and for the team that we finally made it to the World Cup. It's one of the most important goals I've ever scored in my career, if not the most important.
"It was a mix of everything, all kinds of emotions and it was, of course, a lot to take in. But I think it's great to have those kind of games in your career, and to be able to be in the position to play those is amazing. To then do it out on the pitch and to win the game is incredible. To help the team the way I did now in these two games is a boost for me and for the team."
Sweden's recovery was sparked by the appointment of Graham Potter last October. The Englishman had coached Gyokeres during his time with Brighton, and Sweden's talisman is delighted with the impact he's had on the national team.
"I think he's brought a lot of good energy into the group," Gyokeres continued. "The importance of having that connection in the team and in the group both on the pitch and outside (can't be understated). And then (he's said to) stick to the game plan we have and how we want to play football, enjoy playing for Sweden and realise how much it means for us as players and the whole country."
All of a sudden, then, the mood around Swedish football has shifted. From losing to a Luxembourg side ranked 65 places further down the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking last March and going six competitive matches without a win, to defeating two higher-ranked nations and reaching the World Cup for the first time since Russia 2018.
"We always knew that we had a great team with great players," he said. "I think we were be a bit unlucky in some games with the results, and then I think the last couple of years we have changed a lot of players, and a lot of new players have come into the team, so sometimes it can take time to get that together. And now we've played a few games together and I think we have that connection with each other, and that's what we've done on the pitch now, and we've definitely showed that we are a great team."
