Football Apr 05, 2026

Arsenal's Viktor Gyokeres scores hat-trick as Sweden book World Cup play-off final against Robert Lewandowski's Poland

👤
By Admin
Sports Journalist
Arsenal's Viktor Gyokeres scores hat-trick as Sweden book World Cup play-off final against Robert Lewandowski's Poland

Arsenal's Viktor Gyokeres scored a hat-trick as Sweden beat Ukraine 3-1 to book a World Cup play-off final against Poland.

Gyokeres, who started up front for Graham Potter's side with Alexander Isak injured, met a Benjamin Nygren cross just six minutes into the contest.

The forward, who has 16 goals in all competitions for the Premier League title-chasing Gunners, struck again shortly after the break (51) when he caught Ukraine goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin by surprise, before winning and scoring a penalty in the 71st minute to settle the match.

Ukraine grabbed a consolation goal ​through Matviy Ponomarenko in the 90th minute but the contest was long won and the final whistle saw the travelling Swedish fans celebrate wildly as they seized a final chance of a World Cup ​berth.

Sweden will now play Poland on March 31 for a place at this summer's tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico.

Poland came from behind to beat Albania 2-1, with Robert Lewandowski and ‌Piotr Zielinski netting second-half goals to set up next week's decider.

Arber Hoxha put Albania ahead three minutes from ​the break but their bid to ‌reach their first World Cup ended in Warsaw as Poland maintained ​their perfect play-off record, having qualified for the last World Cup and Euro 2024 by the same ​route.

Lewandowski levelled with a header at the back post from a corner in the 63rd minute and ⁠10 minutes later Zielinski smashed ​a first-time shot from outside the area into ​the corner of the net, keeping Poland on course for a third consecutive ‌finals appearance.

Turkey moved within one game of ending ‌their long World Cup absence as Ferdi Kadioglu's second-half goal secured ‌a 1-0 win over Romania in their play-off ​semi-final on Thursday.

Real ​Madrid midfielder Arda Guler produced a superb defence-splitting pass to pick out Kadioglu, who controlled and ​finished calmly to give the ⁠hosts the lead in the 53rd minute.

That proved the difference in a cagey game between two sides seeking a return to ‌the World Cup for the first time since 2002.

Turkey will play Kosovo, who are bidding to reach the tournament for the first time in their history.

The Balkan nation, who have only been playing ​international football since 2014, twice came from behind to beat Slovakia 4-3,with Kreshnik ​Hajrizi smashing home from close-range what proved the winner.

Gustav Isaksen scored twice in two minutes ‌as Denmark powered to a 4-0 win over North Macedonia in their World Cup ‌play-off semi-final in Copenhagen to book a decider against the

Mikkel Damsgaard and Christian Norgaard were also on target as Denmark turned on the style in the second half and now bid to qualify for a third straight World Cup.

to reach the other European play-off

Bosnia's fans celebrated loudly and they can now look forward to a home clash next Tuesday against

Tags:

football news

Share this article

Related Posts

Arsenal 0-2 Man City: Nico O'Reilly's double clinches Carabao Cup triumph and ends Gunners' quadruple hopes

Arsenal 0-2 Man City: Nico O'Reilly's double clinches Carabao Cup triumph and ends Gunners' quadruple hopes

Manchester City won the Carabao Cup as Nico O'Reilly's double clinched a 2-0 win over Arsenal to end their hopes of a quadruple.The full-back's goals,...

England 0-1 Japan: Kaoru Mitoma nets deserved winner as experimental Three Lions fail to fire again

England 0-1 Japan: Kaoru Mitoma nets deserved winner as experimental Three Lions fail to fire again

England's World Cup hopefuls did little to convince Thomas Tuchel of their worth when he names his squad in barely two months' time as another experim...

Bournemouth 2-2 Manchester United: Harry Maguire sent off as Michael Carrick's side twice pegged back in Premier League draw

Bournemouth 2-2 Manchester United: Harry Maguire sent off as Michael Carrick's side twice pegged back in Premier League draw

Harry Maguire saw red and gave away a penalty just hours after his England recall as Man Utd were pegged back to draw 2-2 at Bournemouth.Michael Carri...

Preston 3-1 Stoke: Alfie Devine at the double in mid-table Championship clash

Preston 3-1 Stoke: Alfie Devine at the double in mid-table Championship clash

Alfie Devine scored twice as Preston ended a seven-game winless streak with a 3-1 Championship victory over Stoke at Deepdale.The 21-year-old Tottenha...

Aston Villa 2-0 Lille (Agg:3-0): John McGinn and Leon Bailey goals send Villa into Europa League quarter-finals

Aston Villa 2-0 Lille (Agg:3-0): John McGinn and Leon Bailey goals send Villa into Europa League quarter-finals

Aston Villa are into the quarter-finals of the Europa League following a 2-0 win over Lille at Villa Park.Second-half goals from John McGinn and Leon...

FC Midtjylland 1-2 Nottingham Forest (Agg: 2-2 - Pens: 0-3): Forest reach Europa League quarter-finals with shoot-out victory

FC Midtjylland 1-2 Nottingham Forest (Agg: 2-2 - Pens: 0-3): Forest reach Europa League quarter-finals with shoot-out victory

Nottingham Forest have reached the Europa League quarter-finals with a penalty shoot-out victory over Midtjylland.Forest boss Vitor Pereira benched a...