Viktor Gyokeres has discussed his recent blanks for Sweden following their dismal World Cup qualifying loss against Kosovo on Monday. The defeat led to the sacking of manager Jon Dahl Tomasson as the Swedes are virtually out of contention to qualify for the tournament in North America next summer. This was Sweden's second consecutive home loss during the October international window.

Gyokeres and Isak's struggles continue

Sweden started with Gyokeres and Alexander Isak up top. The signings by Arsenal and Liverpool respectively were among the most talked about transfers in the Premier League as they were picked up for a combined £185 million ($247m). However, the pair flopped spectacularly when it mattered most for their country as they fired blanks in Sweden's back-to-back World Cup qualifier losses against Switzerland and Kosovo.

The consecutive losses mean Sweden continue to languish at the bottom of the group and their chances of making it to the World Cup next summer look extremely slim. The latest loss against Kosovo on Monday has also led to the sacking of manager Tomasson.

Advertisement(C)Getty ImagesTomasson sacked after Kosovo loss

Denmark legend Tomasson took charge of the Sweden national team in February 2024, thereby becoming their first-ever foreign head coach. However, Tomasson's reign lasted less than two years as he was relieved of his duties on Tuesday, a day after Sweden suffered that embarrassing loss against Kosovo. Under Tomasson's tutelage, Sweden failed to win a single game in the qualifying rounds after four matches and are now on the verge of missing out on a World Cup slot.

Confirming Tomasson's sacking, Swedish Football Association's chairman Simon Astrom said: "The decision is based on the fact the men's national team has not delivered the results we hoped for. There is still a chance of a play-off in March and our responsibility is to ensure we have as optimal conditions as possible to be able to reach a World Cup play-off. In this, we assess that a new leadership is required in the form of a new coach."

After the Kosovo clash, Tomasson had refused to resign as he told reporters: "This hurts so much. It's not good enough. We're giving away easy goals and we've forgotten how to score goals. Resign? I have a contract and we're in the middle of the campaign. It's a terrible result. I don't have a good answer as to why we're not scoring goals. I don't think the players doubt the tactics, but we didn't perform well when we conceded easy goals. It's crazy that we didn't score today. We have potential, but it's a matter of decision-making. Kosovo made things difficult for us, and we have to analyse the game. We're in a very dark place right now; we won't get much sleep today. At the moment, no one is doing their job well, except me. Everyone has to improve."

Gyokeres reacts to Sweden's latest loss

After failing to open his account in either of the qualifying matches, Arsenal star Gyokeres was understandably frustrated, as he told : "We don't want to win the game that much, I think that was obvious; you could see from our body language that we don't want to win that much. So, it's difficult against any opponent. We're not giving our best, we're not fully focused on defence and passing. This has to do with attitude. We were unlucky against Slovenia and Switzerland, but in these two games against Kosovo, we didn't deserve anything. Of course, it's a fiasco."

AFPCan Sweden still qualify for the World Cup?

Sweden can no longer qualify for the 2026 World Cup directly as Switzerland are nine points above them with two games left in the group. However, they can still catch up with Kosovo, who are on seven points, if they win their last two matches against  Switzerland and Slovenia next month. Also, Kosovo have to lose their last two ties. If they finish second in Group B, Sweden will progress to the play-offs, which will take place in March next year.