Viktor Gyokeres Scores Hattrick, Sweden Destroy Ukraine
Striker Viktor Gyokeres scored a hat-trick to lead Sweden to a crushing 3-1 win over Ukraine in the 2026 World Cup playoff semifinal at the Ciutat De Valencia Stadium, Valencia, early Friday, March 27, 2026 WIB.
Gyokeres has not shone with his goals when he returned to the English Premier League. However, Gyokeres still took a role that brought Arsenal to the top of the standings and had the chance to win the league title for the first time in 22 years.
If he hasn't shown his maximum sharpness with the club, Gyokeres is able to be a mainstay in the Swedish national team. Gyokeres seems to continue the sharpness of the Swedish legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic and opens the hope of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup final after scoring a hat-trick in the match against Ukraine. He not only scored all the goals but also led Sweden to qualify for the final round to face Poland.
Sweden faces Ukraine, which has the status of host, but is forced to hold the match in a neutral venue. The existence of an armed conflict with neighboring Russia, makes Ukraine host Sweden in Spain.
Sweden, who rely on Gyokeres' sharpness, immediately took control of the game. Moreover, he got support from Anthony Elanga, a former Manchester United winger who is now a pillar of Newcastle United.
Meanwhile, behind him is captain Victor Lindelof who has been wandering around the Premier League. Lindelof, who is also a former Man Utd, is now a pillar of Aston Villa's defense.
Coach Graham Potter actually still has a mainstay weapon, Alexander Isak, who is Gyokeres' tandem. Only, this Liverpool forward is still struggling with an injury so he is absent in the match against Ukraine.
Appearing with the best strength, Sweden immediately put pressure on the hosts. As a result, Sweden immediately took the lead when the match was only six minutes. Gyokeres successfully broke the opponent's goal after receiving a cross from Benjamin Nygren.
The 1-0 advantage made Sweden more aggressive in putting pressure. Only their attacks did not bear fruit so that the one-goal advantage lasted until the first half ended.
Entering the second half, Sweden continued to be offensive so that the team coached by Serhiy Rebrov had difficulty developing the game. As a result, they didn't take long to increase the lead. Gyokeres scored his second goal after defeating goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin in the 51st minute.
Next, Gyokeres completed the hat-trick after finishing the penalty in the 71st minute. The referee awarded a penalty after Trubin's goalkeeper knocked down Gyokeres in the forbidden city. This ex-Sporting Lisbon striker's shot from the white spot gave Sweden a 3-0 lead.
Ukraine could only narrow the gap when Matviy Ponomarenko broke into the Swedish goal towards the end of the match. The score changed to 3-1 and remained until the end of the match. Sweden also qualified for the final round to face Poland who had a hard time winning 2-1 over Albania.
Potter showed his satisfaction with Sweden's performance. "This is a big step for the team. They showed an incredible attitude when facing a top-class opponent. We played as a team because of togetherness. Viktor Gyokeres also played amazingly. He also worked hard for the team. We showed a balance between attacking and defending," said Potter as quoted by the UEFA website.
"We have stepped forward and now face an equally big challenge, namely facing Poland. We are ready for this match," said the former Chelsea manager.