UEFA Nations League: Sweden starts campaign without injured Ibrahimovic
Striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic will not join Sweden in their four UEFA Nations League matches next month, national team manager Janne Andersson said on Wednesday.
Ibrahimovic has struggled with a knee injury in recent months and last played a full 90 minutes in January for his club AC Milan.
“Everyone knows that he has had an injury problem for a while and has withdrawn from the tournament from that perspective,” said Andersson.
Ibrahimovic first withdrew from the Swedish national team after the European Championships in 2016, but returned to his World Cup qualifier in 2021.
He is Sweden’s leading goal scorer of all time, with 62 goals in 121 matches.
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Asked if Ibrahimovic has permanently ruled himself out of playing for Sweden, Andersson said he would keep in touch with the 40-year-old.
“We will keep in touch in the future, we agreed on that last time we talked. We just talked about the upcoming matches, nothing else,” said Andersson.
Rangers defender Filip Helander and Sampdoria midfielder Albin Ekdal have also been ruled out of the squad due to injuries.
Sweden, which has been drawn in Group B4, is away to Slovenia (June 3) before receiving Norway (June 6) and Serbia (June 10), followed by a trip to Norway on June 12.
Squad: Goalkeepers: Andreas Linde (Greuther Furth), Kristoffer Nordfeldt (AIK), Robin Olsen (Aston Villa). Defender: Joel Andersson (Midtjylland), Ludwig Augustinsson (Sevilla), Hjalmar Ekdal (Djurgarden), Gabriel Gudmundsson (Lille), Emil Krafth (Newcastle), Alexander Milosevic (AIK), Joakim Nilsson (Arminia Bielefeld), Victor Nilsson Lindelof (Manchester United) , Martin Olsson (Malmo), Carl Starfelt (Celtic). Midfielder: Viktor Claesson (FC Copenhagen), Emil Forsberg (RB Leipzig), Jesper Karlsson (AZ Alkmaar), Jesper Karlström (Lech Poznan), Kerim Mrabti (Mechelen), Kristoffer Olsson (Anderlecht), Mattias Svanberg (Bologna). Attacker: Anthony Elanga (Manchester United), Viktor Gyokeres (Coventry City), Dejan Kulusevski (Tottenham Hotspur), Robin Quaison (Al-Ettifaq), Alexander Isak (Real Sociedad). |