The Graham Potter magic knows no bounds. There will be those who wonder what right Sweden had to be in this playoff, but they will be in the World Cup after an extraordinarily dramatic victory secured by Viktor Gyökeres’s 89th-minute winner.
A patchy, anxious game in which Poland had twice equalised, its shapelessness an apt reflection of the stakes, had seemed to be drifting towards extra-time when Sweden, in a rare forward sally, won a pair of corners in a row. Suddenly there was momentum and a mounting sense of anticipation. The second corner was half-cleared, Lucas Bergvall jabbed it goalwards. His shot was saved but Besfort Zeneli skewed against the post and the ball fell for Gyökeres five yards out with the goal gaping. Destiny called and the Arsenal forward answered emphatically.
The sides had reached this stage via very different routes. Where Poland had scrapped hard to win five of eight group games, drawing twice against the Netherlands and suffering their only defeat away to Finland before beating Albania in their playoff semi-final, Sweden had been hugely disappointing, finishing bottom of their four-team group with only two points. The Nations League repechage though gave them a second chance and, with Potter installed as manager, they were much more impressive in beating Ukraine 3-1 in Valencia in their semi-final.
