Arsenal’s Viktor Gyokeres scored a hat-trick as Sweden beat Ukraine 3-1 to book a World Cup play-off final against Poland.
Gyokeres, who started up front for Graham Potter’s side with Alexander Isak injured, met a Benjamin Nygren cross just six minutes into the contest.
The forward, who has 16 goals in all competitions for the Premier League title-chasing Gunners, struck again shortly after the break (51) when he caught Ukraine goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin by surprise, before winning and scoring a penalty in the 71st minute to settle the match.
Ukraine grabbed a consolation goal through Matviy Ponomarenko in the 90th minute but the contest was long won and the final whistle saw the travelling Swedish fans celebrate wildly as they seized a final chance of a World Cup berth.
Sweden will now play Poland on March 31 for a place at this summer’s tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
Poland came from behind to beat Albania 2-1, with Robert Lewandowski and Piotr Zielinski netting second-half goals to set up next week’s decider.
Arber Hoxha put Albania ahead three minutes from the break but their bid to reach their first World Cup ended in Warsaw as Poland maintained their perfect play-off record, having qualified for the last World Cup and Euro 2024 by the same route.
Lewandowski levelled with a header at the back post from a corner in the 63rd minute and 10 minutes later Zielinski smashed a first-time shot from outside the area into the corner of the net, keeping Poland on course for a third consecutive finals appearance.
Guler inspires Turkey as Kosovo keep dream alive
Turkey moved within one game of ending their long World Cup absence as Ferdi Kadioglu’s second-half goal secured a 1-0 win over Romania in their play-off semi-final on Thursday.
Real Madrid midfielder Arda Guler produced a superb defence-splitting pass to pick out Kadioglu, who controlled and finished calmly to give the hosts the lead in the 53rd minute.
That proved the difference in a cagey game between two sides seeking a return to the World Cup for the first time since 2002.
Turkey will play Kosovo, who are bidding to reach the tournament for the first time in their history.
The Balkan nation, who have only been playing international football since 2014, twice came from behind to beat Slovakia 4-3,with Kreshnik Hajrizi smashing home from close-range what proved the winner.
Denmark power through as Bosnia book Italy date
Gustav Isaksen scored twice in two minutes as Denmark powered to a 4-0 win over North Macedonia in their World Cup play-off semi-final in Copenhagen to book a decider against the Czech Republic, who beat the Republic of Ireland on penalties.
Mikkel Damsgaard and Christian Norgaard were also on target as Denmark turned on the style in the second half and now bid to qualify for a third straight World Cup.
Bosnia and Herzegovina’s veteran striker Edin Dzeko scored a late equaliser before his side beat Wales 4-2 on penalties to reach the other European play-off
Bosnia’s fans celebrated loudly and they can now look forward to a home clash next Tuesday against Italy, who eventually broke Northern Ireland’s resistance in a 2-0 win.
