The road to North America has reached its end. After a grueling qualifying campaign, the UEFA Playoff Final for Path B is here. Sweden vs Poland, a rematch of the 2022 UEFA Playoff Final, will determine which of these European teams secures a spot in the 48-team tournament.
With only 90 minutes (and potentially 30 more and/or penalties) standing between these nations and soccer’s biggest stage, the stakes at the Nationalarenan in Stockholm could not be higher. Both teams enter this Path B final off the back of impactful semifinal victories.
An underdog Sweden side, revitalized by a stunning semifinal performance, hosts a seasoned Polish team looking to secure one last World Cup appearance for its golden generation.
The Road to the UEFA Playoff Final
Sweden 3 – 1 Ukraine (Valencia, Spain)
The biggest shock among all the UEFA paths came in Valencia. Despite being winless in their previous six matches and missing stars like Alexander Isak and Dejan Kulusevski, Sweden produced a masterclass in clinical finishing. The protagonist was Viktor Gyökeres, who silenced the “home” Ukrainian crowd with a magnificent hat-trick. Ukraine managed a late consolation through teenager Matvii Ponomarenko, but the damage was done. Graham Potter’s set-up with a more counter-attacking 3-5-2 exploited Ukraine’s high defensive line with far too much ease.
Poland 2 – 1 Albania (Warsaw, Poland)
Poland’s path was far more grueling. In a packed National Warsaw Stadium, they faced an Albania side that just would not let. Albania took the lead in the 42nd minute, and looked very comfortable sitting on that score. It took moments of vintage magic from Robert Lewandowski and Piotr Zelinski to complete a comeback and send the Eagles through to the final.
The sides have completely turned around their nature of play in the last two games. Sweden, a broken team without a single victory in their entire European qualifier campaign, completely brushed aside Ukraine in the semifinal. Meanwhile, Poland, the unluckiest team in the European qualifiers who narrowly missed out on automatic qualification despite being one of the best teams during the qualifiers, didn’t have it that easy against Albania.
UEFA Playoff Final: Sweden vs Poland
Path B Final
March 31, 2026
Nationalarenan, Stockholm
In the words of Stockholm natives ABBA, “the winner takes it all, the loser has to fall.”
Sweden enters this final with a newfound sense of belief. After months of criticism, Graham Potter finally saw his vision click. The absence of Isak and Kulusevski was initially thought to be catastrophic for their chances. But it forced Sweden to play more directly through Gyökeres, who is currently playing with the confidence of one the best strikers in Europe. Sweden had not scored first in five consecutive games until the semifinal against Ukraine. Breaking that streak early in Valencia will definitely impact them psychologically.
Poland enters the UEFA Playoff Final as the more “battle-hardened” side. They have been in this exact position before, notably beating Sweden 2-0 in the 2022 playoff final. With Piotr Zieliński pulling the strings in midfield and Lewandowski leading the line, Poland possesses the experience and edge that often decides these finals.
For Robert Lewandowski, Piotr Zieliński, and Jan Bednarek, this is likely the last dance. Poland has been the more consistent side throughout the 2026 cycle, losing only once in the first round. However, their struggle to keep clean sheets remains a vulnerability; they have now conceded in six of their last eight matches.
Poland’s strategy will be clear: control the midfield through Zieliński and feed Lewandowski as much as possible. Unlike Ukraine, who played into Sweden’s hands by over-committing, expect Poland to be more pragmatic. Sweden haven’t kept a clean sheet in eight matches, while Poland are unbeaten in seven games.
UEFA Playoff Final: A Familiar Encounter
Exactly four years ago, March 30, 2022, Poland and Sweden played the same fixture for the same outcome. A Zlatan Ibrahimović-led Sweden team faced Lewandowski’s Poland for a place at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Poland beat Sweden 2-0 to qualify for Qatar. Poland’s goalscorers in that fixture, Robert Lewandowski and Piotr Zieliński, who were also the only scorers in the semifinal against Albania, are all set to start the 2026 fixture vs Sweden as well.
Historically, in head-to-head battles since 1974, Sweden and Poland have faced each other a total of six times. Sweden have won four of those, and Poland two.
The Battle of the #9s: Gyökeres vs Lewandowski
This match features arguably the most intriguing individual duel in European soccer right now. In one corner, you have the raw power and momentum of Viktor Gyökeres. In the other, the technical prowess and experience of Robert Lewandowski.
Fresh off a hat-trick against Ukraine, Gyökeres will look to drag Poland’s aging center-backs out of position with his tireless running into the channels. Conversely, Lewandowski only needs half a yard in the box to change the game. The match may well be decided by which defense blinks first under the pressure of these elite marksmen.
Arsenal’s star forward Gyökeres has already scored 19 goals this season as he prepares to lead Arsenal to their first Premier League title in 22 years. He endured a goalless 2025 for the Sweden national team, but in his first match of 2026, he has already scored three times.
Barcelona’s Lewandowski hasn’t had the greatest of club season, seemingly overtaken in the pecking order by Ferran Torres. Despite that, he has scored a decent 16 goals this season and also scored his 89th international goal in the win vs Albania. That puts the Polish forward just six goals behind Sunil Chhetri, the fourth-highest goalscorer in international soccer. Lewandowski is running out of time to reach his 100th goal, should that be something he wants to achieve.
This might not be the final Gyökeres vs Lewandowski duel this season, as both their clubs are set to meet in the Champions League Semi Finals should Barcelona and Arsenal beat Atlético Madrid and Sporting Lisbon respectively in the quarter finals.
Team News & Prediction
Isak Hien has joined a long list of Swedish internationals who won’t be participating due to injuries. Gabriel Gudmundsson also went off injured against Ukraine, so it will be interesting to see whether he recovers in time.
Poland should largely remain unchanged, but midfielder Nicola Zalewski might start after being suspended for the semifinal vs Albania.
As for the prediction, I have a 50 percent hit rate with that. I boldly claimed a winless, broken Sweden would fall to the hands of an energetic Ukraine. However, Viktor Gyökeres proved me wrong. I did, however, predict Poland to go through against Albania, but never thought it would be that close.
My prediction for the winner of Path B doesn’t change from the last time. It is still Poland. I think a battle-hardened Poland will need either extra time or penalties to beat Sweden after a closely contested 90 minutes.
