Zlatan Ibrahimović playing for Sweden during UEFA Euro 2012
Zlatan Ibrahimović is a Swedish former professional association footballer who represented Sweden at international level from 2001 to 2023. As well as Sweden, he was eligible to represent Bosnia and Herzegovina , or Croatia .[ 1] He made his debut for Sweden in a 0–0 draw against the Faroe Islands on 31 January 2001,[ 2] scoring his first international goal later that year against Azerbaijan . He briefly retired in October 2009 when Sweden failed to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup , but returned to the international team as joint-captain the following August.[ 3] During his international career, he has scored 62 goals in 122 international appearances, making him Sweden's all-time top scorer , surpassing Sven Rydell 's record with two goals against Estonia at the Friends Arena during a friendly in September 2014.[ 4] On 21 June 2016, Ibrahimović announced his retirement from international football after UEFA Euro 2016 , playing his last match for Sweden against Belgium the following day.[ 5] However, he would reverse this decision more than four years later, being recalled to the national team in March 2021 at the age of 39.[ 6]
Ibrahimović scored his first hat-trick on 4 September 2004, when he scored four goals against Malta , the team against which he has scored the most times, with six. He scored four international hat-tricks; in addition to the one against Malta; he scored three goals in a game against Finland during the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying competition, four in a friendly against England in 2012, and three in a friendly against Norway in 2013. More than half of Ibrahimović's goals came at home, having scored twenty at the Friends Arena, eleven at the Råsunda Stadium , five at Ullevi , two at the Swedbank Stadion and one at Gamla Ullevi .
The majority of Ibrahimović's goals came in qualifying matches. He scored nineteen in European Championship qualifiers, including eleven during the 2016 qualifying round , where he finished as the second-highest scorer, two behind Poland 's Robert Lewandowski .[ 8] Ibrahimović also scored nineteen times in World Cup qualifiers. He never scored a goal in the World Cup finals but scored six in European Championship finals. The remainder of Ibrahimović's goals, eighteen, were scored in friendlies.
International goals
Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first.
Hat-tricks
No.
Opponent
Goals
Score
Venue
Competition
Date
1
Malta
4 – (1–0', 2–0', 3–0', 5–0')
7–0
National Stadium , Ta' Qali , Malta
2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
4 September 2004
2
England
4 – (1–0', 2–2', 3–2', 4–2')
4–2
Friends Arena , Solna , Sweden
Friendly
14 November 2012
3
Norway
3 – (1–0', 2–2', 3–2')
4–2
14 August 2013
Statistics
See also
References
^ Ferguson, W. M. (6 June 2014). "Zlatan Ibrahimovic: 'I'm Never Satisfied' " . The New York Times . Retrieved 13 January 2016 .
^ "Zlatan Ibrahimovic breaks Sweden goalscoring record" . BBC Sport. 4 September 2014. Archived from the original on 5 April 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2016 .
^ "Zlatan Ibrahimovic returns to international football with Sweden" . The Guardian . London. 16 July 2010. Retrieved 11 December 2017 .
^ a b Orr, James (5 September 2014). "Zlatan Ibrahimovic: Striker becomes Sweden's all-time record scorer with goals against Estonia" . The Independent . London. Retrieved 11 December 2017 .
^ "Ibrahimović to retire from international football after Euro 2016" . ESPN. 21 June 2016. Archived from the original on 24 June 2016.
^ "Zlatan Ibrahimovic: AC Milan striker recalled by Sweden" . BBC Sport. 16 March 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2021 .
^ "European Championship Qualifying Top Scorers" . BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 8 September 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2016 .
^ a b c d Smith, Peter (23 June 2016). "Zlatan Ibrahimovic retires from Sweden duty: Five memorable goals for his country" . Sky Sports. Archived from the original on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2017 .
^ "Ibrahimovic leaves it late to save Swedes" . Eurosport. Reuters. 21 August 2002. Archived from the original on 12 December 2017. Retrieved 12 December 2017 .
^ "Ibrahimovic saves Sweden" . UEFA. 12 October 2002. Archived from the original on 14 November 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2017 .
^ "Zlatan goals keep Sweden top" . UEFA. 6 September 2003. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2017 .
^ "Sweden 1–0 England" . BBC Sport. 31 March 2004. Archived from the original on 20 May 2006. Retrieved 11 December 2017 .
^ "Larsson lights up Sweden on dark day for Bulgaria" . UEFA. 15 June 2004. Archived from the original on 8 September 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2017 .
^ "Sweden vs. Netherlands" . ESPN. Archived from the original on 12 December 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2017 .
^ "Ibrahimovic dismantles hapless Malta" . Times of Malta . Valletta. 5 September 2004. Archived from the original on 20 November 2011. Retrieved 11 December 2017 .
^ "Sweden rout Malta 6–0" . Times of Malta . Valletta. 5 June 2005. Archived from the original on 12 December 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2017 .
^ "Sweden vs. Bulgaria" . ESPN. Archived from the original on 12 December 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2017 .
^ "Ibrahimovic brilliance steals win for Sweden" . Times of Malta . Valletta. 8 September 2005. Archived from the original on 12 December 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2017 .
^ "Qualification as it happened" . BBC Sport. 12 October 2005. Archived from the original on 15 October 2005. Retrieved 11 December 2017 .
^ "Greece 0–2 Sweden" . BBC Sport. 10 June 2008. Retrieved 11 December 2017 .
^ "Sweden 1–2 Spain" . BBC Sport. 14 June 2008. Archived from the original on 16 August 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2017 .
^ "Sweden 4–0 Malta" . Sky Sports. 10 June 2009. Archived from the original on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2017 .
^ "Hungary 1–2 Sweden" . Sky Sports. Archived from the original on 9 October 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2017 .
^ "Sweden 3–0 Scotland" . BBC Sport. 11 August 2010. Retrieved 11 December 2017 .
^ "Sweden routs San Marino 6–0 in Euro 2012 qualifier" . Fox Sports . 7 September 2010. Archived from the original on 12 December 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2017 .
^ O'Connor, Philip (7 June 2011). "Ibrahimovic hat-trick helps Sweden crush Finns" . Reuters . Archived from the original on 12 December 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2017 .
^ "Croatia 1–3 Sweden" . Sky Sports. 29 February 2012. Archived from the original on 14 October 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2017 .
^ "Sweden vs. Iceland" . ESPN. Retrieved 11 December 2017 .
^ "Ibrahimovic, Sweden defeat Serbia" . Fox Sports . 5 June 2012. Archived from the original on 12 December 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2017 .
^ Dawkes, Phil (11 June 2012). "Ukraine 2–1 Sweden" . BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 24 August 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2017 .
^ Dutt, Sujay (12 October 2012). "Ibrahimović saves Sweden in Faroe Islands" . UEFA. Archived from the original on 22 October 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2017 .
^ "Four-goal Sweden comeback stuns Germany" . UEFA. 16 October 2012. Archived from the original on 12 December 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2017 .
^ Dutt, Sujay (11 June 2013). "Ibrahimović double gets Sweden past Faroes" . UEFA. Archived from the original on 25 December 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2017 .
^ "Sweden 4–2 Norway" . Sky Sports. Archived from the original on 5 April 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2017 .
^ "Kazakhstan 0–1 Sweden" . Sky Sports. Archived from the original on 8 September 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2017 .
^ Dutt, Sujay (11 October 2013). "Ibrahimović stays calm to keep Sweden alive" . UEFA. Archived from the original on 19 October 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2017 .
^ Brassell, Andy (19 November 2013). "Cristiano Ronaldo's hat-trick fires Portugal past battling Sweden" . The Guardian . London. Archived from the original on 16 May 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2017 .
^ "Late drama as Montenegro hold Sweden to 1–1 draw" . Reuters . 15 November 2014. Retrieved 8 February 2018 .
^ "Ibrahimović double sees Sweden down Moldova" . UEFA. 27 March 2015. Archived from the original on 30 August 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2017 .
^ O'Connor, Philip (31 March 2015). "Zlatan Ibrahimovic scores for Sweden, but why were the majority of fans in Stockholm supporting Iran?" . The Independent . London. Archived from the original on 8 May 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2017 .
^ "Sweden's Zlatan Ibrahimovic scores twice in defeat of Montenegro" . The Guardian . London. Reuters. 14 June 2015. Archived from the original on 6 October 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2017 .
^ "Austria qualify after crushing Sweden" . Eurosport. Reuters. 8 September 2015. Archived from the original on 24 October 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2017 .
^ O'Connor, Philip (9 October 2015). "Zlatan on target again as Swedes squeeze past Liechtenstein" . Reuters . Retrieved 11 December 2017 .
^ "Sweden 2–0 Moldova" . Sky Sports. Archived from the original on 4 April 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2017 .
^ Fletcher, Paul (14 November 2015). "Sweden 2–1 Denmark" . BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 12 February 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2017 .
^ "Sweden's Zlatan Ibrahimovic: I've sent Denmark into retirement" . BBC Sport. 17 November 2015. Archived from the original on 23 February 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2017 .
^ a b c Zlatan Ibrahimović at National-Football-Teams.com
General Venues Statistics Results Players Goals World Cups European Championships Other tournaments Culture Notable matches Other SvFF teams
International goals
Hat-tricks by competition
Hat-tricks by country
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