Graham Potter made five changes to see Sweden side that got the better of Romania at the start of this international window, handing a first start to Patrik Walemark, who was denied a dream full debut when Marcin Bulka parried his early effort amid a lively first five minutes, in which Viktor Johansson was forced to get behind Piotr Zielinski’s half-volley.
It was Swedish pressure that led to the opening goal eight minutes in, with captain Victor Lindelof flicking on for Benjamin Nygren to head downwards and into the net. Going behind seemingly woke Poland up as they were the better team for the rest of the first half, with Sebastian Szymanski poking towards goal shortly after only to be denied by Johansson.
Przemyslaw Wisniewski also dragged a shot wide before Johansson saved again, this time parrying Matty Cash’s effort with his weaker left foot. Wiktor Nowak was then just off target with a strike from the edge of the box, as it seemed inevitable the visitors would equalise.
Ten of Sweden’s previous 11 games had seen both teams score as well as six of Poland’s prior eight away matches, and so it was unsurprising to see the Poles equalise before half-time through Szymanski, who converted Nicola Zalewski’s cutback in off the post after a slick passing move, leaving Blagult without a competitive clean sheet since the previous UNL cycle two years ago.
Sweden responded well in the second half and were almost ahead again through Yasin Ayari, whose effort deflected just wide after some good work from Viktor Gyokeres. The Brighton & Hove Albion man would then give them the lead after the hour mark, as a short corner from Sebastian Nanasi found its way to Ayari on the edge of the area, and he curled beautifully into the bottom corner.
Two quickly became three for the Swedes when Walemark crossed for Gyokeres, who connected well on the volley to put the win beyond doubt with his second goal in as many UNL games.
In the end, it was the same outcome as the dramatic head-to-head to qualify for the World Cup in March, with Sweden triumphing again to record back-to-back Nations League victories and top the group in its early stages, running out 3-1 winners.
Potter's side are also unbeaten in nine UNL matches (W7, D2), while Poland’s winless streak in all competitions now stretches to five matches (D2, L3).
Review all the latest UNL results and standings on Flashscore.