{"id":497558,"date":"2026-03-27T03:26:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T03:26:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/497558\/"},"modified":"2026-03-27T03:26:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T03:26:08","slug":"viktor-gyokeres-hits-hat-trick-as-sweden-and-graham-potter-see-off-ukraine-world-cup-2026-qualifiers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/497558\/","title":{"rendered":"Viktor Gy\u00f6keres hits hat-trick as Sweden and Graham Potter see off Ukraine | World Cup 2026 qualifiers"},"content":{"rendered":"

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<\/a> and it helped that, at the other end, they could call upon a centre-forward head and shoulders above anyone else on view.<\/p>\n

That was Viktor Gy\u00f6keres, 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<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

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 Gy\u00f6keres. \u201cTo score a hat-trick was one thing,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I thought his overall performance, his hold-up play, his defensive responsibility to the team, was incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n

A goal within six minutes meant Sweden<\/a> could believe. Serhiy Rebrov lamented how easily Ukraine, adopting Levante\u2019s stadium as their latest makeshift home, were picked apart down their left but Benjamin Nygren\u2019s devilish cross was a dream for Gy\u00f6keres. 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.<\/p>\n

For all their possession, a Ukraine side hit by injuries and suspensions barely laid a glove on Sweden until Matviy Ponomarenko\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe 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,\u201d 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 Gy\u00f6keres 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.<\/p>\n

Viktor Gy\u00f6keres scores his and Sweden\u2019s first goal in their 3-1 victory against Ukraine. Photograph: Joel Marklund\/BILDBYR\u00c5N\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

\u201cI liked the look of the team, the way they acted together,\u201d Potter said. \u201cThey executed what we asked them to do.\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

They were exposed a final time when Gy\u00f6keres 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 Gy\u00f6keres 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 Gy\u00f6keres was a rampaging one-man band.<\/p>\n

For Rebrov, the regret was clear. \u201cWe lost tonight because we couldn\u2019t show our maximum as a collective,\u201d he said. \u201cSweden didn\u2019t let us play in the final third, it was a very intense defence and very hard to open them.\u201d<\/p>\n

If Viktor Tsygankov had not sidefooted at Nordfeldt shortly before Gy\u00f6keres\u2019s 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

There is no danger of Potter facing much opprobrium for now. Poland\u2019s 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. \u201cWe\u2019re still at the start of our journey together,\u201d he said. A transatlantic leg may soon be added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Graham Potter may be in it for the long haul but the immediate outlook looks pretty bright too.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":497559,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[59,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-497558","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-gb","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497558","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=497558"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497558\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/497559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=497558"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=497558"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=497558"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}