The Man with the Gesture Fixed the Swedish Goal Festival

The national team captain Jon Dahl Tomasson's ultra-offensive team lineup paid off.

With ease.

Kulusevski scored the leading goal already after ten minutes – his first for the year in the national team – after an Azerbaijani defender failed to clear the ball.

It was only a matter of time when 2–0 would come. The national team played football when Lex Kulusevski was practiced. His words of wisdom from last week:

You shouldn't feel any pressure, you should enjoy and have fun and do what you love.

The lid was off for Gyökeres

Whereupon the Swedish team captain of the evening followed up his fourth national team goal in his 45th national team match by setting up Gyökeres for 2–0.

The lid was off, more would come. And it came pretty quickly. By whom? Gyökeres, of course. Europe's perhaps hottest striker pushed himself forward and scored 3–0.

We get to play our game and do what we're good at, and then it works well, he himself states in Viaplay.

Then and there, the national team had done what was required to become the top team in the C division and get an extra chance to reach the World Championship 2026 via playoff if the qualifying goes badly.

How it turns out now lies in UEFA's hands.

If the result is set to 0–0 between Romania and Kosovo, Sweden becomes the top team. If Romania is awarded the win with 3–0 in the interrupted match, Romania passes by.

Missed penalty

Alexander Isak, the third link in the offensive super trio, got a goal – incorrectly – ruled out for offside in added time in the first half.

Directly in the second, he got a new chance, but Rza Jafarov went the right way on the penalty.

Shortly after, Yasin Ayari, one of the year's breakthrough players, had to leave injured.

Kulusevski scored 4–0, whereupon Gyökeres increased his attraction value even more with his hat-trick to 5–0. He was not satisfied.

The 6–0 goal was his ninth in six matches in the Nations League.

I feel in good form, hungry, want to score many goals. It feels like I'm in the right position quite often and try to take shots when I get into the box, so then it becomes a few goals, says the four-goal shooter.

Nils Zätterström and Isac Lidberg debuted with short substitute appearances.

In early March, the next national team gathering awaits. Whether it will be World Championship qualifying or friendly national team matches will be decided at the World Championship draw on December 13.

Henrik Skiöld/TT