It is Gyokeres Hat Trick! A spectacular night for the Arsenal center forward and his national team, which will face Poland in the next round to decide who will advance to the World Cup.
2026 World Cup qualification Europe
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Match Report:
Graham Potter may be in it for the long haul but the immediate outlook looks pretty bright too. This was his third game in charge of Sweden and the biggest compliment to pay is that they looked like themselves. A strong, diligent defensive performance nullified a lightweight Ukraine and it helped that, at the other end, they could call upon a centre-forward head and shoulders above anyone else on view.
That was Viktor Gyökeres, a talisman for his country even if Arsenal fans are yet to be fully enamoured. An object lesson in No 9 play brought a deserved hat-trick and ensured Sweden will reach the World Cup if they beat Poland at home on Tuesday. It is some turnaround from the directionless, disconsolate side Potter inherited; virtually ignored by a meagre travelling support when they were routed by Switzerland on his debut in November, this time they were serenaded by a jubilant yellow mass of 3,000 in the north-east corner.
There is no mistaking that Potter, who signed a contract extension to 2030 this month, has knocked them into shape but he preferred to marvel at the input of Gyökeres. “To score a hat-trick was one thing,” he said. “But I thought his overall performance, his hold-up play, his defensive responsibility to the team, was incredible.”
A goal within six minutes meant Sweden could believe. Serhiy Rebrov lamented how easily Ukraine, adopting Levante’s stadium as their latest makeshift home, were picked apart down their left but Benjamin Nygren’s devilish cross was a dream for Gyökeres. It was duly converted from a matter of feet, the matchball winner deserving credit for staying onside, and even at that point there was a sense Sweden would ease away.
For all their possession, a Ukraine side hit by injuries and suspensions barely laid a glove on Sweden until Matviy Ponomarenko’s late consolation. At least the majority of a spirited crowd, largely drawn from the 338,000 Ukrainians resident in Spain, had their moment to cheer. Rebrov had hoped his team, nomads for the past four years, could match Sweden in the duels and give relief to those who continue to suffer terribly back home. They never wavered but, physically and between the ears, were thoroughly outdone.
“We anticipated the game was going to be a bit more on the counterattack for us, also acknowledging that our front players are as good as any in the world at attacking big spaces,” Potter said. Exhibit B came at the same point of the second half, both sides having threatened in a fast restart. This time it was a quick kick from the keeper Kristoffer Nordfeldt that sent Gyökeres away, although there was still plenty to do. He barrelled into the penalty area familiarly but then, benefiting from the absence of any Ukrainian challenge, delivered a gossamer touch. The right-footed finish, slid around Anatoliy Trubin with scant backlift, was delightful.
“I liked the look of the team, the way they acted together,” Potter said. “They executed what we asked them to do.” He had selected three centre-backs and, even though the departure through injury of Isak Hien presented a disturbance before the interval, Ukraine were crowded out repeatedly.
They were exposed a final time when Gyökeres got away once again, attempted to round Trubin and was clipped. He converted the penalty emphatically, via a snick of glove, and that familiar mask celebration could make yet another appearance. Maybe Gyökeres is best suited to assignments like this, when running and formidable work rate are the primary drivers for reward. Anthony Elanga also probed busily in attack but at times Gyökeres was a rampaging one-man band.
For Rebrov, the regret was clear. “We lost tonight because we couldn’t show our maximum as a collective,” he said. “Sweden didn’t let us play in the final third, it was a very intense defence and very hard to open them.”
If Viktor Tsygankov had not sidefooted at Nordfeldt shortly before Gyökeres’s final flourish, perhaps they would have summoned a ferocious final 20 minutes. But a team missing the likes of Oleksandr Zinchenko and Artem Dovbyk appeared diminished in comparison to the unit that should have beaten Wales in their playoff four years ago. Rebrov’s contract is soon to expire; he answered questions about his future gruffly and the chances of his continuing beyond this summer appear remote. Nobody sitting in his seat should be judged too harshly given the overwhelming context.
There is no danger of Potter facing much opprobrium for now. Poland’s visit to Stockholm promises to be a dogfight but, in short order, he has created the kind of throwback that traditionally earned Sweden such acclaim. Given Alexander Isak and Dejan Kulusevski are still to return, it is not hard to see why his eyes lit up at an extended stay. “We’re still at the start of our journey together,” he said. A transatlantic leg may soon be added.
Match Events
0' The match is about to start!
6' GOAL! Ukraine 0-1 Sweden (Viktor Gyökeres)
26' Match Event for Ukraine vs Sweden
49' Match Event for Ukraine vs Sweden
51' GOAL! Ukraine 0-2 Sweden (Viktor Gyökeres)
73' Penalty Goal! Ukraine 0-3 Sweden (Viktor Gyökeres)
90' GOAL! Ukraine 1-3 Sweden (Ponomarenko)
Line-ups
Ukraine XI: Viktor Tsygankov, Oleksandr Zubkov, Oleksandr Tymchyk, Vitaliy Mykolenko, Ivan Kalyuzhnyi, Anatoliy Trubin, Valeriy Bondar, G. Sudakov, Ilya Zabarnyi, Vladyslav Vanat, Yegor Yarmolyuk
Subs: Roman Yaremchuk, Oleksandr Svatok, Bogdan Mykhaylichenko, Oleksiy Gutsulyak, Mykola Shaparenko, Oleksandr Pikhalyonok, Ruslan Neshcheret, Dmytro Riznyk, Oleg Ocheretko, Nazar Voloshyn, Eduard Sarapiy, Matviy Ponomarenko
Sweden XI: K. Nordfeldt, Lindelof, Jesper Karlström, Viktor Gyökeres, Gabriel Gudmundsson, Isak Hien, Gustaf Lagerbielke, Benjamin Nygren, Herman Johansson, Anthony Elanga, Yasin Ayari
Subs: Carl Starfelt, Eric Smith, Gustaf Nilsson, Svanberg, Melker Ellborg, Besfort Zeneli, Daniel Svensson, Noel Törnqvist, Taha Ali, Hugo Larsson, Roony Bardghji, Bergvall