The 27-year-old celebrated with many of the approximately 3,000 Swedish fans who had traveled to the stadium. He even led the victory song after the 3-1 victory in Valencia.
Afterwards, he was the hottest of many in-form Swedish players when he met the media.
There was pressure on you personally to deliver when many others were struggling. How did you embrace that?
You have played some important matches in your career, and as a striker you often carry that responsibility. You know that you have that pressure on you and you want to do well. Especially in the national team you know how much it means to the Swedish people, to yourself and to the whole team. So you just have to do your best, says Gyökeres.
He was praised by the Swedish crowd who sang his name.
Fantastic.
Got to grab the megaphone
Were you a little uncomfortable there with the megaphone?
They probably forced me a bit. It's not often that I use the megaphone. It was something new. I wasn't sure which song I would use.
Were you more nervous going into the match itself?
No, it wasn't that nerve-wracking. It was just that maybe you weren't ready for it.
He sang a familiar Swedish supporter chant.
It became “Kanna på”. I got some tips from my teammates.
On the decision to try to round the goalkeeper when it was a penalty:
When I got a few meters away from the goalkeeper I saw that he was standing quite far out. He was quite big, so I felt it was best to go around him. He hit me well there and it was a penalty.
What did you say at half-time? There had been a lot of Ukrainian possession after your 1-0 goal.
We pushed to maybe put the pressure a little higher, but at the same time they didn't create much in the first half, even though they had the ball. It's clear that we might have wanted to be a little higher up in the second half, but I thought we made sure the match turned out the way we wanted.
Praised by Larsson
Sebastian Larsson, the assistant national captain, was one of many who paid tribute to the Arsenal star.
First of all, it's an incredible team effort by everyone, but it's clear that Viktor stands out. I told him he had made up his mind today. It was clear that he had.
Everyone knows what quality he possesses. I think you could see early on that it would be his night.
Then Larsson didn't mean the early lead goal; he was thinking about the initial long plays that reached Gyökeres.
He draws the ball in, gives us control and can move the whole team up.
Facts: How Sweden goes to the World Cup
After the victory against Ukraine, a playoff final against Poland awaits at home at the Strawberry Arena in Solna on Tuesday.
If the match is tied after regular time, extra time (2 x 15 minutes) and possibly penalty kicks will follow.
The winner goes to the World Cup.
The World Cup finals will be held in the USA, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19. If Sweden reaches the World Cup, they will face Tunisia, the Netherlands and Japan in a group.
The last time the Swedish men's national team played at the World Cup was in 2018. They reached the quarterfinals, where they lost to England (0–2).
