Less than a week after playing a key role in the late goal that sent Sweden to the World Cup, Gustav Lundgren’s dreams of playing in the final are in tatters after he ruptured his Achilles tendon during the warm-up before his first league match of the season on Monday.
Lundgren, whose strike down the right and into the penalty area allowed Viktor Gyokeres to dismiss the Swedish winner in the 88th minute in a thrilling 3-2 play-off win over Poland, faces surgery and rehabilitation instead of World Cup group matches against Tunisia, the Netherlands and Japan.
READ | Gyokeres scores late winner as Sweden moves past Poland to reach the FIFA World Cup
«I’m a bit shocked. I didn’t really understand what happened or what it means,» he told reporters as he left the arena on crutches. «Everything indicates that the Achilles tendon has been torn. That will be a fairly long absence, this season is as good as over.»
A late bloomer, the 30-year-old GAIS winger did not play in the third tier of Swedish football until 2022, and few could have imagined he would be called up to Graham Potter’s Sweden squad three years later.
His disappointment at missing the tournament was palpable as he spoke to reporters in Gothenburg after his club’s 1-0 defeat in the league opener against Djurgarden.
«(Being in the World Cup squad) wasn’t something I took for granted… but it’s sad not to give yourself the chance to be there and have that opportunity. It’ll probably take a few days to understand what happened,» he said.
Published on April 7, 2026
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