Zlatan Ibrahimovic World Cup goals, matches and wins: Will the Swedish star be in the FIFA 2022 tournament in Qatar?
Zlatan Ibrahimovic turns 40 just before the World Cup in Qatar kicks off. The Swedish forward feels as if he has been a presence in European football for decades now – a combination of his great personality and his tendency to try to make it outrageous on a football pitch.
After controversially not being selected for the World Cup 2018, it remains to be seen if Ibrahimovic will travel to Qatar 2022 with the Swedish national team as they look to qualify through the playoffs. If he does, having retired from an international career twice already during his career, it will be an impressive story, as he looks to represent his country in his 40s.
Ibrahimovic has been a regular part of the TV screens when he played in La Liga, Serie A and the Premier League – not to mention countless matches in the Champions League – but he has never lit up World Cup games in the same way, with Sweden rarely made the World Cup throughout his time in the national team.
With his age creeping up on him, Qatar could be Zlatan’s last chance to steal the show and accomplish something spectacular on the biggest stage with the whole world watching.
Did Zlatan Ibrahimovic win the World Cup?
For a player with his reputation, Ibrahimovic has a rather overwhelming record in the World Cup. He was still young when Sweden went to the World Cup in 2002, but he managed to catch the eye. The Swedes got out of the death group, which includes England, Nigeria and Argentina, before the draw Senegal in the round of 16. Ibrahimovic almost won the match after a strong run to the right, but his left foot shot was straight at the ‘keeper.
In 2006, Zlatan was more of a regular in the Sweden team and played most of the minutes when the team again reached the quarterfinals before losing to Germany. Sweden missed the next two World Cups due to poor qualifying tournament, where Zlatan temporarily withdrew from international football after the team missed the World Cup 2010. He again announced his international departure after the European Championships 2016. Although he reportedly wanted to return to the arrangements for the World Cup 2018 , with Sweden qualifying, he was not part of the squad for the tournament.
Year | Games played | Goals and assists | Played minutes |
2002 | 2 | – | 46 |
2006 | 3 | – | 207 |
World Cup goal for Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Perhaps the biggest mark on Ibrahimovic’s career is his non-existent World Cup record and, more generally, Sweden’s bad record during his time. Of course, football is a team sport and he can not be held solely responsible, but there is no doubt that it will be a great sorrow for the Swede.
He has won everything at club level while representing many of Europe’s most prestigious clubs, but he has never repeated it on the international stage. As I said, his record for Sweden is still strong. He is the best goal scorer of all time for the Swedish men’s team with 62 goals in 120 matches. He is the best goal scorer for his country in the European Championships with six goals, and he is the only Swedish player to score goals in three consecutive European Championships: 2004, 2008 and 2012.
Will Zlatan Ibrahimovic qualify for the 2022 World Cup?
Sweden was drawn in Group B for UEFA’s World Cup qualifiers together with Spain, Greece, Georgia and Kosovo. The group winner would automatically qualify for the World Cup while the runner-up would advance to UEFA’s play-offs. Spain won the group with 19 points, while Sweden came second with 15. They won all their home matches during the campaign but lost away against Spain, Greece and Georgia.
Sweden joined the draw for the playoffs with a semifinal and a final to play. They were drawn against the Czech Republic, which they receive in Solna. If they get past the Czech side, they will face Poland in the final, and the winner of that match will enter the World Cup draw.
Poland was originally drawn against Russia, but after FIFA and UEFA agreed to ban Russian teams from the competitions, Poland got a bye to the final. The winner of Sweden vs Czech Republic meets Poland on March 29, with the match in Poland.
Can Ibrahimovic be the oldest player in the World Cup?
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is 39 and turns 40 in October, a month before the World Cup starts, making him one of the oldest players to ever play in a World Cup if he is in Qatar. As you might expect, many of the oldest players who have functions in the World Cup are goalkeepers.
The oldest player who has ever participated in a World Cup is Essam El-Hadary, who played for Egypt during the World Cup 2018. The goalkeeper was 45 at the time of Egypt’s match against Saudi Arabia. Second on the list is the Colombian goalkeeper Faryd Mondragón at 43. He came in during the last five minutes of Colombia’s last group game against Japan and set the record for the oldest World Cup player before it was beaten by El-Hadary.
The record set by Mondragón had stood for 20 years and was set by Roger Milla. The Cameroonian striker is still the oldest outfielder to play in the World Cup match. He was over 42 when Cameroon met Russia in 1994. He also scored in that match, making him the oldest goal scorer in World Cup history, a record he still holds.
There is no doubt that Zlatan Ibrahimovic would love to break both of those records (oldest outfielder, oldest goal scorer). However, Qatar 2022 will come too early for him to break Roger Milla’s record, and he would have to hang on to a new World Cup cycle to make it.