Sweden beat Poland three goals to one on Monday evening, extending a strong start to their autumn Nations League campaign, and they did it without the injured Alexander Isak.
The hosts struck in the eighth minute, when Benjamin Nygren headed in a Besfort Zeneli cross that captain Victor Lindelöf had flicked on. Poland then settled and took charge of the contest. They had 13 first half attempts yet only one goal to show for them, with Szymanski tapping in Nicola Zalewski’s cross two minutes before the break.
Lindelöf was candid afterwards, saying his side started well before losing their grip and becoming sloppy. The second half brought a sharper Sweden. Yasin Ayari slipped away from Szymanski and bent a shot into the bottom right corner in the 63rd minute. Nine minutes later, Viktor Gyökeres volleyed in unmarked at the far post, and the assist came from debutant Patrik Wålemark, who beat his man on the right before delivering a precise cross.
The statistics tell a curious story. Poland’s 13 first half shots outnumbered Sweden’s 12 across the entire ninety minutes, and even bringing on Robert Lewandowski late could not spark a fightback. Clinical finishing, not volume, decided the night.
There is history here too. Poland’s winless run on Swedish soil now stretches back to 1930. For Gyökeres, who has had a quiet spell at club level, it was a second goal in two international games.
Sweden sit top of their group after also beating Romania, and they face Bosnia and Herzegovina on Friday. Graham Potter will be delighted with the result, though he will want his defence to stay sharper for longer.
