Sweden defeats Poland to clinch World Cup spot
Sweden has qualified for the World Cup with a 3-2 win over Poland in Tuesday's UEFA World Cup qualifying playoff final. Anthony Elanga opened the scoring 20 minutes in with an outstanding strike from the top of the box, before Poland leveled the game 15 minutes later through Nicola Zalewski. Gustaf Lagerbielke restored the home's side's advantage with a header just before halftime, but Karol Świderski leveled the game for Poland just after the break.
But it was Viktor Gyökeres who had the final say, as the Sweden star put his team into the World Cup with an 88th-minute winner. This is the first World Cup for Sweden since it reached the quarterfinal in 2018, with the Scandinavian nation failing to qualify in 2022. Sweden reached the World Cup by defeating Ukraine 3-1 on Thursday, March 26 in the semifinal before the win over Poland on Tuesday.
Sweden will go into World Cup Group F alongside the Netherlands, Japan and Tunisia. Sweden World Cup group stage schedule June 14 vs. Tunisia, Estadio BBVA - Monterrey, Mexico.
June 20 vs. Netherlands, NRG Stadium - Houston, TX June 25 vs. Japan, AT&T Stadium - Arlington, TX This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sweden clinches 2026 World Cup spot with win over Poland