Overview
- Sweden secured a World Cup berth with a 3-2 playoff final win over Poland, sealed by Viktor Gyokeres’s 88th‑minute strike in Stockholm.
- Gyokeres had already carried the attack in the semifinal, scoring a hat-trick against Ukraine to set up the final.
- Sweden reached the playoffs by winning its 2024–25 Nations League group, a safety net for group winners who fail in standard qualifying after finishing bottom of their qualifying group without a win.
- Graham Potter, appointed in October, replaced man‑to‑man marking with simpler zonal defense and rebuilt team harmony, and the federation extended his deal to 2030 before the playoffs.
- At the finals, Sweden will face Tunisia, the Netherlands and Japan in Group F in Dallas, with the fitness of Alexander Isak and Dejan Kulusevski a key factor to monitor.