Bengtsson began playing for his local team, Halmstads BK, who had just been promoted to the Allsvenskan, the highest level of football in Sweden.
Although World War II was going on at the time, Sweden was neutral, though playing sports in wartime did mean that the roster had to be rotated more often than normal.
When Halmstad was relegated, Bengtsson was transferred to Elfsborg, who had been a strong team, finishing second for three straight seasons between 1942 and 1945.
He and his fellow attacker Jean Courteaux scored a total of 42 goals, which was then Nice's most prolific partnership of all time (Hervé Revelli and Dick van Dijk equalled the record in the 1972–73 season, but it has still never been beaten[2]).
[citation needed] Bengtsson was part of Sweden's squad for the football tournament at the 1948 Summer Olympics, but he did not play in any matches.