Tuesday’s playoff final will see one country earn a place at the 2026 World
Despite enduring a wretched qualifying campaign, Sweden is just a game away from the 2026 World Cup, but Poland stands in its way on Tuesday night. Stepping away from the Premier League limelight after a forgettable spell in charge of West Ham United, Graham Potter has been tasked with clearing up Jon Dahl Tomasson’s mess.
He wasn’t able to ignite something drastic late on in Sweden’s qualifying campaign, but they’ve been handed a second chance courtesy of their performance in the most recent UEFA Nations League. Potter’s side were favored by the bookmakers to make it out of Pathway B, and that faith was vindicated when Ukraine were cast aside by a Viktor Gyökeres hat-trick on Thursday night. Sweden’s 3–1 win has set up a winner-takes-all clash with Poland, who is aiming to reach its third consecutive World Cup. The Poles squeezed past Albania 2–1 in its semifinal, having finished second in qualifying behind the Netherlands. Jan Urban’s side did anything but disgrace themselves, drawing twice to the Dutch, but a 2–1 defeat to Finland greatly damaged its chances of claiming top spot.Viktor Gyökeres’ hat-trick sunk Ukraine. | David Aliaga/NurPhoto/Getty Images Sweden must be in a vengeful mood when Poland makes their way to the Strawberry Arena, given that they prevented them from qualifying for the 2022 World Cup. Coincidentally, it was the two goal scorers from Poland’s semifinal win over Albania who sank the Swedes in the playoffs four years ago, Robert Lewandowski and Piotr Zieliński. As bad as Sweden were in qualifying, many like to quip that "you’re only as good as your last game," and the nature of its triumph on Thursday has bolstered the hopes of Swedish supporters that their country will appear at the World Cup for the first time since 2018. Just eight spots separate these two nations in FIFA’s world rankings, meaning, on paper, it’s the most evenly matched of the four UEFA playoff finals.: Sweden is trusting Graham Potter long-term, and the decision to appoint a manager with a dwindling reputation at club level will appear incredibly astute if he guides them to the World Cup. Thursday was just his third game in charge, yet Sweden performed with great cohesion in the absence of big names and were clear about what they wanted to achieve with and without possession. The squad looked to be enjoying their soccer again, with the momentum gained from that victory likely to permeate into Tuesday’s final.: Without Alexander Isak and Dejan Kulusevski, Arsenal’s Viktor Gyökeres must step up this month. He couldn’t have done much more against Ukraine, firing home a match-winning hat-trick, but that effort will count for very little if Poland turn them over on Tuesday. Gyökeres must go again and lead the line with similar vigor.: The visitors triumphed when these two nations last faced off in the playoffs to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, but Poland has a woeful record in Sweden. In fact, they haven’t beaten Tuesday’s hosts on their own patch since 1930! Poland has also lost its last three games in Solna, all played between 1999 and 2004.The hosts are missing two of their best players. | FotMob Sweden is navigating the playoffs without arguably its best two players. Alexander Isak is still recovering from a broken leg, while Dejan Kulusevski has been out of action since last May with a knee injury.Isak Hien is also missing due to a thigh injury, while Eric Smith has suffered a fitness setback that has thrust his status for Tuesday’s game into doubt. He was an unused substitute on Thursday night. Lucas Bergvall recently returned from an ankle injury to make Potter’s squad, but the Tottenham midfielder only featured off the bench against Ukraine. Success on Thursday will likely mean there are limited changes to Potter’s starting lineup for the final.: Nordfeldt, Lagerbielke, Starfelt, Lindelöf, Gudmundsson; Johansson, Ayari, Karlström, Nygren; Elanga, Gyökeres.Jan Urban opted for a rather aggressive starting lineup against Albania, and it’ll be interesting to see if the Poland manager is quite so brave in Solna. If he is, we could see a pair of converted No. 10s, Sebastian Szymanski and Piotr Zieliński, operate in the midfield pivot against Sweden, with width supplied by wingbacks Nicola Zalewski and Matty Cash. The latter’s role is important to the balance of this Polish team, especially given Zalewski’s inclination to impact games in the final third.for the third and final time this summer.: Grabara; Kędziora, Bednarek, Kiwior; Cash, Zieliński, Szymański, Zalewski; Kamiński, Pietuszewski; Lewandowski.
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