As player he played as a defender and represented Sweden; he participated in the final of the 1958 FIFA World Cup on home soil, losing out to Brazil, and won national championships with IFK Norrköping.

At the end of the era of the great Hungarian coach Lajos Czeizler he was supposed to replace Gunnar Nordahl in midfield after he moved to AC Milan in 1949.

In his first match against AIK he scored three goals, but the Austrian coach Karl Adamek, who was in charge from 1950 forward, moved him back into the defence where he should excel.

[5] After losing in the semifinals to the ascending Golden Team of Hungary with 0–6 Sweden won the bronze medal, winning the third place match against Germany with 2–0.

In 1958 Gustavsson was nominated for the campaign of national team in the World Cup 1958 in Sweden, and was there part of the standard formation alongside Nils Liedholm, Lennart Skoglund and Kurt Hamrin who then also plied their trade in Italy.