Don't Miss

India's CWG 2026 Medal Tally Lowest In 24 Years, Yet Among The Best

Tactical Self-Destruction: How England Threw Away Their World Cup Final Dream

Bundesliga Blueprint: How Zee Plans To Complete India's Football Jigsaw

Manuel Neuer Doesn't Know Where To Stop: Not On The Pitch, Not In His Career

Advertisement

ENG

Login

Dark / Light mode

Oct 10,2026 09:03 AM IST

Viktor Gyokeres In, Robert Lewandowski Out: Sweden Beat Poland To FIFA World Cup 2026 With 88th-Minute Winner

facebook

twitter

WhatsApp

Settings

Select Language

Dark / Light mode

Search

FIFA World Cup 11 Jun 26 to 19 Jul 26

arrow-down reddit snapchat twitter facebook comments email printer search bell top-nav reddit-fill snapchat-fill twitter-fill facebook-fill share whatsapp-fill bookmark arrow-rgt arrow-next arrow-up refresh close link cog star book zap cricket football tennis formula-1 badminton hockey golf boxing ndtv-n check left-arrow right-arrow

Sports Home 2026 FIFA World Cup News Viktor Gyokeres In Robert Lewandowski Out Sweden Beat Poland To FIFA World Cup 2026 With 88thMinute Winner

Related Articles

Story ProgressBack to home

Viktor Gyokeres In, Robert Lewandowski Out: Sweden Beat Poland To FIFA World Cup 2026 With 88th-Minute Winner

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 European play-off final on Tuesday.

Read Time: 3 min

facebook

twitter

WhatsApp

reddit

E-mail

Sweden's Viktor Gyokeres celebrates© AFP

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 European 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.

Earlier, Anthony Elanga and Gustaf Lagerbielke had twice given Sweden the lead 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.

For Poland, who are captained by striker Robert Lewandowski, it was the first time they have failed to reach a World Cup finals since 2014.

The Swedes began in slightly nervous fashion in front of the fans in Stockholm as the Poles controlled the early tempo.

Party in Stockholm

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 from inside the box forced a fine one-handed save from Kristoffer Nordfeldt low down to his left.

Jakub Kaminski then worked the Swedish goalkeeper from the resulting corner with a tame effort from the edge of the box as Poland started to turn the screw.

Polish pressure 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 near the right touchline to concede a free-kick in a dangerous position.

Celtic's 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 Potter and his Polish counterpart Jan Urban 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.

Poland piled forward desperately 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.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Featured Video Of The Day

Spain Vs Argentina | Dani Olmo On WC Triumph: 'Wanted To Set An Example For The Next Generation'

Topics mentioned in this article

Viktor Gyokeres Robert Lewandowski Robert Lewandowski Sweden Sweden Poland Poland FIFA World Cup 2026 Football

Get the Latest Cricket, Asian Games 2026, Football , Hockey, Badminton Scores, F1 Results at NDTV Sports. Like Us On Facebook Or Follow Us On Twitter For More Sports Updates. You Can Also Download The NDTV Cricket App For Android Or iOS.

Advertisement

Listen to the latest songs, only on JioSaavn.com

Advertisement

Advertisement

Players - Top Goals

Player Matches Goals Mbappé Mbappé France 8 10 Messi Messi Argentina 8 8 Haaland Haaland Norway 5 7 Bellingham Bellingham England 8 7 Kane Kane England 7 6

Player Matches Assists Michael Olise Michael Olise France 8 7 Messi Messi Argentina 8 4 Odegaard Odegaard Norway 5 4 Mbappé Mbappé France 8 4 Brahim Brahim Morocco 6 4

No Teams MP Goals GA 1 England England 8 20 12 2 France France 8 20 10 3 Argentina Argentina 8 19 8 4 Spain Spain 8 14 1 5 Belgium Belgium 6 14 7

No Teams MP Goals Assists 1 France France 8 20 18 2 England England 8 20 14 3 Argentina Argentina 8 19 12 4 Spain Spain 8 14 10 5 Norway Norway 6 13 10

Full Stats

Full Stats

Full Stats

Full Stats

Now Trending

Advertisement

Trending Links

Follow us on:

facebook

twitter

Cricket

Football

More Sports

Formula 1 Tennis Hockey Badminton Golf Nba Kabaddi Shooting Swimming Table Tennis

This website follows the DNPA Code of Ethics © Copyright NDTV Convergence Limited 2026. All rights reserved.