Sweden reach 2026 World Cup despite last place, Nations League opens door | OneFootball

Despite finishing bottom of their qualifying group, Sweden have booked a place at the 2026 World Cup via the play-offs, a route earned through the Nations League.

L'Équipe notes that, since 2022, the competition awards play-off berths to the highest ranked group winners who finish outside the top two in qualifying. There were three such spots in 2022 and four in 2026 after the tournament expanded to 48 teams.

Top of League C Group one in 2024-2025, Sweden entered Path B of the play-offs.

They beat Ukraine 3-1 on Thursday, then edged Poland 3-2 on Tuesday night to seal their ticket for this summer's North American finals.

The turnaround came a little over three months after they finished last in Group B of qualifying with only two points, well behind Switzerland on 14 points, who advanced directly, and Kosovo on 11 points. Kosovo took the play-off spot from that group and were knocked out 1-0 by Türkiye on Tuesday.

Source: L'Équipe