The first goal came after just six minutes, after a pass from Benjamin Nygren. Shortly after the break, he struck again, assisted by goalkeeper Kristoffer Nordfeldt. But he wasn't done there.
In the 73rd minute, Gyökeres stole the ball in midfield, rounded the goalkeeper and was brought down. He took the penalty himself and rolled in 3–0.
"It's clear that it's important to set the tone from the start and gain momentum. Today it clicked from the start and it continued that way," says Gyökeres about both his and Sweden's dream start.
“Important match”
He has now made 17 senior international appearances and values his performance against Ukraine highly.
"It's clear that you hold it high. It was an important match for the national team, and being able to make this effort is of course extremely important and takes us to the final. But the most important match is now on Tuesday (against Poland)," says the Arsenal striker.
Strike partner Anthony Elanga pays tribute to the hat-trick hero.
"A fantastic player. I'm very happy for him. It's very good to play with him too. He helps me a lot and we have a good relationship," says Elanga.
Englishman Graham Potter took over as national coach last fall after Dane Jon Dahl Tomasson was fired following a failed World Cup qualifier. The match against Ukraine was only Potter's third match in charge.
How has Potter been able to change the team in such a short time?
"It's still too early to say. But what I can say is that he has created an environment where we players can enjoy being on the pitch. He gives us a game plan but he also tells us to decide what we can do on the pitch," says Elanga and continues:
"He gives us freedom and he gives us this balance that we need. It's been very good so far. He's been fantastic."
“Work left to do”
What does that freedom mean to you?
"A lot. When I have this freedom, I play my best football. When you play with a player like Viktor, who takes two centre-backs, I have the freedom to go everywhere."
Poland awaits in the playoff final on Tuesday in Stockholm. The winner there will go to the World Cup this summer.
"Hopefully we can win on Tuesday too, but it was important for us to win today. We still have work to do," says Elanga.
Semi-finals: Italy–Northern Ireland 2–0, Wales–Bosnia-Herzegovina 3–6 on penalties (1–1 after full time and extra time). Final: Bosnia-Herzegovina–Italy.
Semi-finals: Ukraine–Sweden 1–3, Poland–Albania 2–1. Final: Sweden–Poland.
Semi-finals: Turkey–Romania 1–0, Slovakia–Kosovo 3–4. Final: Kosovo–Turkey.
Semi-finals: Denmark–North Macedonia 4–0, Czech Republic–Ireland 6–5 on penalties (2–2 after full time and extra time). Final: Czech Republic–Denmark.
The finals will be played on March 31st.
The final winners are set to go to the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
