Lucas Bergvall changed Sweden’s play-off win over Poland, Erik Edman said, and the midfielder’s bench entrance tilted the match toward Sweden. That move helped Sweden reach the 2026 World Cup, while Viktor Gyokeres scored the winner and Sweden finished the job in the play-offs.
Erik Edman on Bergvall
“Lucas is - as you all know - a fantastic talent,” Edman said. “He’s had a tough second season, but I’m sure it’s been tough for everyone.”
He then gave the clearest assessment of the Poland match: “Lucas was instrumental to actually help Sweden win the play-offs against Poland – when he came off the bench, he more or less changed the game to our advantage.”
“Viktor Gyokeres scored the winner, but Lucas changed the game,” Edman said. The point was not just that Bergvall played, but that Sweden needed a late jolt and got one from a substitute who shifted the balance without needing to score.
Sweden’s route through UEFA
Sweden had already taken the long road to the World Cup. They won the C Division of the UEFA Nations League to gain a place in the play-offs, then finished bottom of UEFA qualifying Group B behind Switzerland, Kosovo and Slovenia.
That meant the Poland match carried the weight of the whole campaign. Sweden did not qualify through the group, so the play-off was the route that kept the tournament alive, and Bergvall’s arrival off the bench became part of the turning point.
Edman’s World Cup memory
Edman’s view carries extra weight because he knows the tournament from the inside. He played 57 times for Sweden between 2001 and 2009, was selected for the World Cup in Japan and Korea in 2002, and featured at the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
He also tied that experience to a childhood memory, saying: “As a young boy it was Mexico 86 and all those iconic names that featured in that World Cup.” He added: “Obviously, Maradona was the clear and obvious superstar of that tournament, but there were so many others as well. I was collecting the Panini Sticker Album with all the teams and I remember it took me a lot of time and effort to get Michel Platini!”
His own club path also fits the same frame. Edman became the first Sweden player to play for Tottenham Hotspur, featured 34 times in the 2004/05 season, and scored a 35-yarder at Anfield. That is the background behind his warning that Bergvall needs care as Sweden move on.
“I think Graham Potter knows he needs to be careful with Lucas and I would assume he will gradually play more and more if we manage to progress,” Edman said. Sweden’s immediate task is Group F, where they were due to open against Tunisia in the early hours of Monday, with Japan and the Netherlands also waiting later in the group.
