It was chaos at Strawberry Arena.

Chaos in the Poland penalty area, chaos as yellow shirts streamed away from it and chaos in the stands.

Lucas Bergvall's shot was saved, Besfort Zeneli's lobbed effort came back off the post but there was Viktor Gyokeres, six yards out with the goal at his mercy.

One shot, lashed high into the net, was enough to banish memories of Sweden's dismal qualifying campaign and send Graham Potter's side to the World Cup.

Twice the home fans in Stockholm dared to believe their side had scored the goal to take them to this summer's tournament, twice Poland struck back.

But having mustered precious little in the second half, Sweden finally sparked into life in the final 10 minutes, and after substitute Gustav Lundgren wriggled into the box to create the opening, it was third time lucky.

The crowning moment belonged to Gyokeres.

Anonymous for much of the evening, the Arsenal striker showed up when it mattered most and having scored a hat-trick in the play-off semi-final on Thursday, no Sweden player has done more to ensure their World Cup qualification.

Once the celebrations die down, Sweden can look forward to their first World Cup since 2018.

They will begin their campaign against Tunisia in Guadalupe, Mexico, on June 15 (03:00 BST) before facing Netherlands and Japan in Texas.

"I'm going to have a beer and then think, 'Wow, we're going to Dallas.' I'll have to dust off my cowboy hat, won't I?" Potter said.

That they have made it at all is somewhat remarkable following a qualifying campaign in which they failed to win any of their six games.

Manager Jon Dahl Tomasson was sacked once automatic qualification from the group became impossible with Potter the man tasked with turning things around.

Much of the frustration around came from the fact that, on paper, this is a strong Sweden group with Gyokeres and Liverpool striker Alexander Isak, who moved for a combined £180 last summer, the headlines acts.

When everyone is fit, a squad full of attacking talent includes Newcastle winger Anthony Elanga and Tottenham's Dejan Kulusevski.

"Those players are not bad collectively, but we were under-performing as a collective massively," former Sweden and Leicester defender Pontus Kamark told BBC Sport in November.

"When you do it almost every game, then it is something more than just the players."

Potter, 50, has struggled in his past two Premier League jobs at Chelsea and West Ham but remains highly thought of in Sweden following his seven-year spell in charge of Ostersunds.

He took the side from northern Sweden from the fourth tier to the top division and won the Swedish Cup in 2017, earning qualification to the Europa League in the process.

"Potter is half Swedish," Kamark added. "Well, he's not, but he actually spoke Swedish in the press conference, so he is very likeable and he is almost one of our own.

"He will get more time than most foreign managers."

The Englishman's arrival brought renewed optimism to Sweden and, despite a 4-1 loss to Switzerland and being held to a 1-1 home draw by Kosovo in his first two games, in March his contract was extended until 2030.

Those at the Swedish FA will feel their confidence in Potter has already been justified.

More of a focus on defensive solidity and a switch to a back five has paid off in these play-off games - for which Sweden qualified through winning their group in the third tier of the Nations League.

They were far from rock-solid against Poland but nor were they giving up chances at the rate they were under Tomasson with Barcelona star Robert Lewandowski - whose own hopes of one final World Cup campaign have been dashed - not given a sniff.

"We weren't perfect, but who cares?" Potter added. "We're going to the World Cup, baby. Wow. Yeah, I can't analyse it."

The coach might not be ready to analyse yet but six goals in two games, despite having just 33% possession against Poland and marginally less against Ukraine, is a good sign that the big names at the top end of the pitch can shine in his system as well.

With Isak and Kulusevski still to be added into the mix, Sweden fans will be hoping a squad peppered with so many gifted individuals can finally play to its potential under Potter this summer.