Depleted Sweden relying on 'ugly' Gyokeres for final match of extended window

[p]Withdrawals through injury, a sickness bug sweeping through the camp and last-minute call-ups being drafted into the squad have all threatened to derail the inaugural extended September-October international window, but [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/sweden/OQyqbHWB/"]Sweden[/a] have taken it in their stride.[/p][p]Having beaten [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/romania/IaD8jZpU/"]Romania[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/poland/2HzmcynI/"]Poland[/a] at home before drawing away in [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/bosnia-herzegovina/fqe7WYTr/"]Bosnia[/a], Blagult have one final hurdle to overcome as they look to put themselves in a very healthy position in the group before the final two matches in November - [b]an away match against Romania in Bucharest tonight (5th October, 20:45 CEST).[/b][/p][p]On paper, this appears to be nothing to worry the Swedes, as Romania sit bottom of the group with no points and 12 goals conceded, but the visitors will be well aware that even with their strongest line-up of the window so far they only sneaked past the Romanians 2-1 on home turf, while the home side will fancy their chances against the illness- and injury-raveged squad as they fight for their League B survival.[/p][p]But while more and more players have been ruled out of action, one player who has remained is [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gyokeres-viktor/zaBZ1xIk/"]Viktor Gyokeres[/a], whose strike in Zenica against Bosnia was his third goal in the first three games of this campaign.[/p][embed guid="5769d8fd-1d89-4c2f-83b5-e5f0aff7c4a8" url="https://x.com/svenskfotboll/status/2107115618461757461" social-type="twitter" /][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/smith-eric/remhb0a6/"]Eric Smith[/a], one of several late call-ups to deal with the injury and sickness crisis, believes that with Gyokeres in form, Sweden always have a chance.[/p][p][b]"What's it like to face Viktor Gyokeres? You feel it in training,"[/b] said the centre-back in the pre-match press conference, adding that the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/arsenal/hA1Zm19f/"]Arsenal[/a] man doesn't shy away from the physical side of the game.[/p][p][b]"He gets hit a lot but he also gives a lot. It's a give-and-take but he's a strong footballer so he can handle it."[/b][/p][p]As for trying to deal with the centre-forward, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/st-pauli/ILyJuN3g/"]St Pauli[/a] man Smith has some advice on what his fellow defenders should not do against Gyokeres.[/p][p][b]"It's not fun to go into close combat right away, he's a bit ugly too but usually in the right way. It hurts to face a striker like that. It's very easy to tease Viktor but it's also wrong to do it because he'll punish you. So I wouldn't tell anyone else to do it,"[/b] he explains.[/p][p]Smith won his third cap against Bosnia, yet that already makes him the sixth most experienced among the 12 defenders and goalkeepers still standing going into the clash in Bucharest, where Gyokeres will be aiming to reach a quarter of a century of Sweden goals.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/romania-IaD8jZpU/sweden-OQyqbHWB/?mid=SbevBQf2"]Follow Romania vs Sweden on Flashscore.[/a][/b][/p]