The Arsenal striker joins Alexander Isak in Graham Potter’s final selection, securing his ticket to North America after a heroic play-off hat-trick ended Sweden's World Cup absence.
Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres has been named in Sweden’s 26-man squad for the 2026 World Cup, giving Mikel Arteta another confirmed representative at this summer’s tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Sweden head coach Graham Potter has included Gyokeres among his forward options, with Liverpool striker Alexander Isak also selected. Dejan Kulusevski, who has been recovering from a serious knee injury, has missed out.
For Gyokeres, the call-up is the expected reward for a season in which he has remained central for club and country. The Arsenal forward has scored 14 Premier League goals so far this season, putting him among the leading scorers in the division, even if his league return has not quite matched the extraordinary numbers he produced before leaving Sporting CP.
His Sweden case was strengthened when it mattered most.
Gyokeres scored a hat-trick in Sweden’s 3-1 World Cup play-off semi-final win over Ukraine in March, dragging Potter’s side to within one match of the tournament. Reuters reported that he opened the scoring after six minutes, added a second after the break and completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot in the 71st minute.
He then scored the winner in a 3-2 play-off final victory over Poland, securing Sweden’s return to the World Cup after missing the 2022 tournament.
Sweden’s forward line still has obvious quality, with Alexander Isak also included after returning from injury. The difference is rhythm. Isak has played 1,032 minutes this season, the equivalent of just over 11 full matches, while Gyokeres has carried a far heavier load for Arsenal and Sweden across the campaign.
That cuts both ways for Graham Potter. Isak may arrive with legs fresher after a disrupted year, but Gyokeres has had the continuity of regular football, repeated starts and high-pressure minutes. In tournament football, sharpness can matter as much as talent.
Gyokeres' move to the Premier League was always going to bring a different challenge, not only because of the physical level, but because Arsenal’s attacking structure has rarely been settled for long this season.
The Sweden international has not always had the same supply line around him, with injuries affecting Arsenal’s wingers and midfielders at different points of the campaign. For a centre-forward, that can change everything: the timing of crosses, the angles of through balls, the speed of combinations around the box and the number of early passes played into space. But has still given Arsenal a reliable goal threat and a physical penalty-box presence in matches where opponents have defended deep.
Sweden begin their World Cup campaign against Tunisia before facing the Netherlands and Japan in Group F. For Gyokeres, the task now is to finish the club season strongly with Arsenal before carrying his play-off momentum onto the biggest international stage.