Ibrahimovic returns to Sweden squad for Euro Championship with no guarantee of playing time

The 41-year-old AC Milan striker played his last match for the national team in 2022 against Poland in the World Cup qualification playoff loss

March 15, 2023 10:12 pm | Updated 10:12 pm IST

File photo of AC Milan’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

File photo of AC Milan’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic. | Photo Credit: Reuters

AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic returns to the Sweden squad after a one-year absence for their European Championship qualifiers against Belgium and Azerbaijan later this month, Sweden coach Janne Andersson announced on March 15.

The 41-year-old played his last match for the national team in 2022 against Poland in the World Cup qualification playoff loss, but has since struggled with a long-term anterior cruciate ligament injury that kept him on the sidelines.

Ibrahimovic quit international football after Euro 2016 but made his return in 2021 for their unsuccessful World Cup qualifiers.

"I don't see him as a starter. It will be more like it has been in Milan that there are substitution possibilities," Andersson said to reporters when asked about how much Ibrahimovic will play.

Ibrahimovic is Sweden's all-time top scorer, with 62 goals in 121 matches.

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