STOCKHOLM: Zlatan Ibrahimovic will return to Sweden’s squad after an almost five-year hiatus to play in World Cup qualifiers at the end of March, head coach Janne Andersson said on Tuesday.
The player, known for his not-so-humble ways, also announced his return himself by posting a picture of himself on Instagram in the Swedish team kit with the caption “The return of the God.”
The 39-year-old AC Milan striker retired from the Swedish squad after the 2016 European Championship after winning 116 caps and scoring 62 international goals.
Media had speculated about Ibrahimovic’s possible return to the national team, but the Swedish Football Association had refused to comment until Tuesday, when he was announced among the players selected for the qualifiers against Georgia on March 25 and Kosovo on March 28, as well as a friendly against Estonia on March 31.
Ibrahimovic has been nursing a muscle injury lately but hopes to return to the pitch on Thursday when Milan face his former club, Manchester United, in the Europa League round of 16.
The Swede has made headlines over the years with cheeky hints that he could be returning to the Swedish team.
But things took a more serious turn last autumn when he told media in the Scandinavian country that he missed playing for the team.
Ibrahimovic and coach Janne Andersson then met for talks.
Without “Ibra,” Sweden reached the 2018 World Cup quarter-finals and qualified directly for Euro 2020, which have been postponed to June-July 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ibrahimovic back in Sweden squad after 5-year gap
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Ibrahimovic back in Sweden squad after 5-year gap
- The 39-year-old AC Milan striker retired from the Swedish squad after the 2016 European Championship – winning 116 caps and scoring 62 international goals
- Ibrahimovic has been announced among the players selected for the qualifiers against Georgia on March 25 and Kosovo on March 28
Sixth Dakar Rally win for Al-Attiyah as Benavides triumphs on two wheels
Qatar’s Nasser Al-Attiyah won the Dakar Rally for the sixth time in the car category on Saturday as Argentina’s Luciano Benavides won by two seconds on two wheels, the narrowest margin ever.
Al-Attiyah, with Belgian co-driver Fabian Lurquin, had led overnight after taking his 50th career stage win and made no mistakes as he handed Dacia a first victory at their second attempt in the two-week event held entirely in Saudi Arabia.
The 55-year-old Qatari also won in 2011, 2015, 2019, 2022 and 2023.
Ford’s Nani Roma finished second, nine minutes and 42 seconds behind, and teammate Mattias Ekstrom was third after winning the final stage.
Last year’s winner Yazeed Al-Rajhi of Saudi Arabia withdrew in the opening week after mechanical problems.
Benavides had earlier taken the motorcycle title after American Ricky Brabec lost his way and saw victory slip through his fingers.
The KTM rider, whose older brother Kevin won the Dakar in 2021 and 2023, came home second in the 105-km stage in Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea port of Yanbu, with Honda’s overnight leader Brabec 10th.
In a grueling endurance event spanning two weeks and 8,000km over rocky roads, through canyons and vast expanses of desert dunes, twice winner Brabec blew his chances with only a few kilometers remaining.
Spaniard Tosha Schareina finished third overall for Honda.
“From the start to the finish I never stopped dreaming, I never stopped believing,” said Benavides, who had trailed Brabec by three minutes and 20 seconds after Friday’s penultimate stage.
“I said to all my people around ‘I don’t know why but I still feel it’s possible, I still believe I can win and it’s going to go my way’.
“In the last three kilometers, Ricky took a wrong piste and I took a good one... I just saw the opportunity and I took it.”
American Skyler Howes was fourth overall for Honda, ahead of Australia’s 2025 champion Daniel Sanders on a KTM.
Sanders crashed on stage 10 but refused to retire and raced on despite a suspected broken collarbone.
