Sweden (National Football)

Sweden manager Janne Andersson dismissed talk of an international return for Zlatan Ibrahimovic on Monday after his side overcame Italy to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. 

A 0-0 draw at the San Siro for the Swedes saw them to a 1-0 aggregate win over the Azzurri, with the team turning in a heroic defensive performance in both matches. Afterwards, the manager was asked about Ibrahimovic and was not pleased.

"This is incredible! This player [Ibrahimovic] has just stopped to play with Sweden one year-and-a-half ago and we are still here talking about him," Andersson said, per Sacha Pisani of Goal. "Gosh, we need to talk about the great players we have in this team I believe."

Andersson added that Ibrahimovic is "a great champion, but we had to adapt and found another style."

The Manchester United striker posted the following on Twitter after his country's display against Italy:

Ibrahimovic left international football in 2016 after the UEFA European Championship. He's the nation's all-time top scorer with 62 goals in 116 caps.

With Sweden at the World Cup and the 36-year-old nearing the end of his career, the temptation would be there for Ibrahimovic to come out of retirement. 

Still, it appears as though Andersson has discarded any talk of that happening. That's understandable given they have qualified for the tournament without him.

Not only were they colossal in their defensive play against Italy, they have shown attacking flair during their qualification run, with the 2-1 win over France a particular highlight. They also finished ahead of the Netherlands in Group A and in Emil Forsberg have one of the most exciting playmakers in European football.

Journalist Kristan Heneage noted that Sweden look liberated without Ibrahimovic in the team:

The frustration from Andersson is understandable, though the side's former forward is such a huge character—especially in Italy, where he played for AC Milan, Inter Milan and Juventus—that he will always command some attention from the press.

For the time being Ibrahimovic must focus on his own recovery from the injury that's kept him sidelined since April.

The Red Devils striker excelled for Manchester United in his first season with the club and will be hopeful of making a big impact in Jose Mourinho's side when he recovers full fitness. Should he light up the Premier League in 2018, Ibrahimovic and Andersson may have some difficult decisions to make.

When you can walk the walk, you can talk the talk. 

Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored both Sweden goals as they secured a 2-2 draw at Denmark, which was enough to see them qualify for Euro 2016 with a 4-3 aggregate win. 

Zlatan's second goal in the game was the stunning free-kick above, and he had a message for all of Denmark after the game. 

He said, as per the Mirror: "They said they were going to send me to retirement. I sent their whole nation into retirement."

The Internet loved #TheBurn:

Zlatan after beating Denmark: "They wanted me to retire, I just sent their whole nation into retirement” pic.twitter.com/X5L2QbXCAQ

— BreatheSport (@BreatheSport) November 17, 2015

Zlatan after beating Denmark: "They wanted me to retire, I just sent their whole nation into retirement” pic.twitter.com/Tqh6NCN46J

— Jacobo Waincier (@Jacobo_Waincier) November 17, 2015

Love him or hate him, Euro 2016 wouldn't have been the same without Zlatan.

[Twitter, h/t Mirror]

AIK striker Mohamed Bangura couldn't help but burst out laughing after Norrkoping defender Andreas Johansson threw himself to the floor with an embarrassing dive during Sunday's Swedish league clash.

The incident occurred when Bangura raised an arm to signal to a teammate at a throw-in and Johansson decided to take the opportunity to collapse to the floor in an attempt to simulate some sort of nonexistent assault.

As is the natural response after witnessing such a pathetic attempt at cheating, Bangura couldn't help but burst out laughing at his fallen opponent, who quickly got back to his feet after realising he wasn't getting anywhere with his performance.

Update, August 6:

Johansson has taken the high road and apologised for the dive. Per the Guardian:

In a statement on his club’s website, Johansson said: “What I did was wrong and has no place in football. I had a quick brainwave of which I am very ashamed … When I see things like this on TV it makes me angry and it makes me extremely disappointed that I did it.

"From now on, my focus will be on the future, on the preparations for our next match … My commitment and my desire to win will not be affected.

I will continue to work even harder to be the role model I want to be, on and off the field."

Many others would have tried their best to block it out from their memories forever, so credit to him for not just keeping quiet until the world moved on.

[h/t the Telegraph]

You might remember a story we brought you last October, when French under-21 star Layvin Kurzawa had to swallow a bad case of karma. 

From that report: 

The Monaco full-back scored a late goal against Sweden in the European Championship play-off. The goal looked to have qualified France for the tournament on away goals.

After scoring his goal, Kurzawa decided it would be a good idea to do his celebration, a sort of army salute, right in the faces of some of the Sweden players.

However, Sweden scored at the other end just a minute later, and goalscorer John Guidetti, one of the men who had to suffer Kurzawa's hand in his face, could think of only one way to celebrate.

Little did we know at the time, but that was only the start of Sweden's fairy-tale campaign.

On Tuesday night, they upset heavy favourites Portugal on penalties to complete a Cinderella run to the championship. 

There was, of course, only one way to celebrate. 

We wonder if Kurzawa was watching.

[Twitter: @AA_Richards]

The mighty Zlatan Ibrahimovic found himself at the centre of controversy during Sweden's 1-1 draw with Austria on Monday evening, as he appeared to elbow goalscorer David Alaba in the face.

The talismanic Swede was given just a yellow card for an offence that many deemed worthy of an instant dismissal.

After the game, Zlatan was typically bullish about the incident, making a sarcastic suggestion that he should be slapped with a very lengthy ban. Stephan Uersfeld of ESPN FC reports:

"Asked about the incident after the match, Ibrahimovic jested that he should be severely punished for his actions, saying sarcastically: 'I should be banned for 40 matches.'"

Austrian defender Aleksandar Dragovic simply thought that the referee was too intimidated by Ibrahimovic. A notion that can only perpetuate Zlatan's lore. 

"It was a red card for me," Dragovic said via The Guardian. "The referee was scared of Zlatan." 

After his hyperbolic suggestion, the Paris Saint-Germain star told Swedish newspaper Aftonblaet that there was no malice in the challenge (ESPN FC translates):

"'The referee sees that Alaba attacks me twice, and the third time all I tried to do is to shield the ball from him. He's 1.5-1.6 metres [4'11"-5'3" feet] tall—it's clear that he reaches towards my elbow,' he said of Alaba, who is actually 1.8 metres [5'11" feet] tall."

Clearly, Zlatan's towering frame gives him a confused perspective of height when considering everyone shorter than he is, but the jury is probably still out on the intent of the challenge. Something that is abundantly clear, however, is that you must never touch Zlatan. 

The World Cup play-offs require a certain type of sang froid—ironically, a quality plainly missing from France’s performance in them so far—as players stand upon the brink of realising a dream, or a nightmare. If one expects Sweden to look to Zlatan Ibrahimovic for inspiration as they attempt to overturn a 1-0 deficit against Portugal, it is not necessarily assumed that his leadership takes any other form but the provision of brilliance.

Yet something has changed since Ibrahimovic moved to Paris Saint-Germain, a surprising twist of fate given the French nation’s love of a bona fide rebel. France has celebrated him, even creating a verb in his honour (‘zlataner’—to blitz or pulverise) and marvelling at his idiosyncrasies as much as his outrageous skill and serial goalscoring.

At 32, he is more than a gifted bully wreaking havoc in a modest Ligue 1 playground. He is more even than a technical leader to PSG, and to the league competition as a whole. He has grown into the role of pastoral leader in his own unusual way, talking ever since his early months at the club about his need to share his experience with his teammates (by UEFA.com).

Teammates Thiago Silva and Lucas Moura have often recounted Ibrahimovic’s array of expletives on the training fields of the Camp des Loges after passes towards him are misplaced in practice (with amusement by Silva, and with trepidation by Lucas).

His long list of confrontations with colleagues and opponents are well-known—with Rafael van der Vaart, Jonathan Zebina and Pep Guardiola among them—but his frustrations tend to be put into the pursuit of excellence in Paris. He knows that he is a senior player who needs to guide the rest—and to make them winners.

Nowadays, the kung-fu kicks tend to be strictly limited to breathtaking goals like this effort against Marseille (via LFP.fr), even if the still-aching chest of St Etienne goalkeeper Stephane Ruffier after one clumsy challenge last autumn that led to Ibrahimovic being sent off might disagree.

Ibrahimovic will never be snow white, but he is genuinely misunderstood, much like Cristiano Ronaldo, his direct opponent in this perceived battle of the demigods in Lisbon and now Stockholm. He is known as the ultimate braggart, but much of that comes from his very knowing, self-constructed media image, that many fail to grasp as being tongue-in-cheek.

His grinning comment to a journalist on the eve of the first leg that they were talking to “God” is a case in point (Bleacher Report story here). Tapping into the legend of Zlatan and propelled by social media, the idea that this was delivered by some cackling megalomaniac was halfway around the world before the truth had pulled its trousers on.

Ibrahimovic knows how it works. Having told a L’Equipe journalist soon after his arrival in France that he was happy for him to “write what you like,” he provided a sober commentary on the billing of the play-off as Cristiano versus Zlatan.

“I think that the idea’s to create a tension around this game,” he said in Thursday’s press conference in Lisbon. “It’s great for the fans, because they have something to read about.”

Ibrahimovic may keep the myth alive, but he has grown from the maverick teenager from the tough Malmo suburb of Rosengard. A compulsive winner, he is quite comparable to Roy Keane in his rejection of excuses and heavy demands on all his teammates.

With Sweden—where the quality drop-off between him and his peers is far more pronounced than that in Paris, of course—this willingness to lead is even more desirable. Portugal may have better players overall but while Ibrahimovic is hungry, Sweden have a chance of being led to Brazil.

Cristiano Ronaldo won the battle of the superstars, as his goal gave Portugal a 1-0 win over Sweden in the first leg of their 2014 World Cup play-off in Lisbon.

The match had been billed as Ronaldo vs. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but the Paris Saint-Germain forward failed to deliver.

However, his Swedish team-mates looked to have done enough to take a 0-0 draw before the Real Madrid star claimed the only goal of the first leg in the 82nd minute.

A low cross from Miguel Veloso into the 6-yard area saw Ronaldo stoop low to head home and give Portugal a narrow advantage heading into the second leg on Tuesday. 

Portugal kicked off the first half looking for their first win over Sweden on home soil and almost scored in the fifth minute.

A first-time pass from Raul Meireles found Moutinho inside the area. The forward was forced wide by Sweden goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson and shot the ball into the side netting.

Just a minute later, the visitors almost stunned the home crowd when Mikael Lustig drove down the right flank before sending a dangerous cross into the area. Johan Elmander was stretching too far to make a full connection, though, and the ball slipped wide of the post.

Ronaldo’s sole early contribution was a 25-yard free-kick straight into the Sweden wall, while Ibrahimovic had produced even less.

The PSG striker then stepped over a 20th-minute ball on the edge of the Portuguese box, allowing Sebastian Larsson to sting the hands of Rui Patricio with a fierce drive.

Kim Kallstrom then struck a free-kick inches wide of the Portugal goal when the crowd was expecting Ibrahimovic to take the set piece.

Ronaldo was almost set clear on goal by another fine pass from Meireles, but the ball just escaped the Real Madrid star.

In the 37th minute, Veloso hacked down Ibrahimovic and was fortunate to escape a yellow card from the referee.

Portugal were becoming very frustrated toward the end of the first period, and Joao Pereira earned the first caution of the game for a foul on Alexander Kacaniklic three minutes before half-time.

Five minutes after the break, Portugal were almost gifted the lead when Isaksson and his defence failed to gain control of the ball inside the area. The danger was eventually cleared, however, as Helder Postiga failed to get a clear-cut chance on goal.

Postiga was again the threat in the 63rd minute when he connected with a corner but could not turn the ball past Isaksson from an acute angle.

Postiga was withdrawn two minutes later for Hugo Almeida, as Portugal looked for a more physical presence up front.

Larsson was cautioned harshly in the 70th minute for a foul on Coentrao at the by-line before Sweden switched Rasmus Elm for Pontus Wernbloom.

With 15 minutes remaining, Ronaldo finally found some space inside the area, but the Real man was well offside when he collected Meireles’ shot.

Ronaldo then picked up a yellow card for tripping Isaksson, but the former Manchester United player appeared to have been harshly treated. Elmander also received a caution for his words about the incident.

But the Real star could have been dismissed after he was caught on camera moving his head toward Sweden defender Lustig.

Lustig did not go to ground after the incident but did put a hand to his face, to which Ronaldo indicated that he thought the defender was play-acting.

Sweden replaced Kallstrom with Anders Svensson, as they attempted to batten down the hatches and ensure a 0-0 draw to take into the second leg.

Elmander made the most of a Pereira challenge on him inside the Portugal area and the match official appeared to show leniency by not giving him a second yellow for diving.

Then, with eight minutes left, Ronaldo broke the deadlock. Veloso found space on the left flank to cross low into the 6-yard area. The Real Madrid star stooped to get ahead of his marker and gave Portugal the lead.

Ronaldo should have added a second in the 85th minute, but headed against the crossbar from an Almeida cross.

But it was still Ronaldo who edged the battle of the superstars, with Ibrahimovic offering very little for Sweden throughout the first leg.

Player ratings

Cristiano Ronaldo: A

The Real Madrid star could not get a hold on the game in the first period but was always willing to run in a bid to open up an opportunity.

Ronaldo came up trumps in the closing stages when he grabbed the opener before heading against the crossbar in the 85th minute. 

He had this to say after the match, per the Associated Press (via SI.com): "We've got the minimum advantage, but it's better than a draw. It would be better if our lead was bigger. We have a big battle in Sweden next week."

 

Zlatan Ibrahimovic: B-

Apart from a clever ploy of allowing the ball to run for Sebastian Larsson to strike from the edge of the area, the Paris Saint-Germain striker barely featured in the opening half.

Ibrahimovic seemed disinterested at times and endured a disappointing night for Sweden.

Raul Meireles: A

The former Chelsea and Liverpool midfielder was a constant menace to Sweden in the first half with his incisive passing.

Meireles was always looking for the chance to open up Sweden and almost succeeded with several balls to Ronaldo and Postiga.

Johan Elmander: A-

The Norwich City striker was the main threat for Sweden in the first half and was always a willing runner in the search for chances on the counter-attack.

Elmander sweated buckets for Sweden alongside his surlier strike partner, but he almost ruined a fine display with a second yellow card for diving.