Sweden boss dashes Zlatan Ibrahimovic's World Cup hopes

Posted Tuesday, April 24, 2018 by 101 GREAT GOALS

Janne Anderson, the manager of the Swedish national team, has this evening opened up on the possibility of former Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic being included in the country's squad for this summer's World Cup.

Crocked

Ibrahimovic, who of course arrived at Old Trafford in the summer of 2016 in a high-profile free agent switch from Paris Saint-Germain, enjoyed an excellent start to his career with United, racking up 22 goals and 8 assists between the Premier League and Champions League during his debut campaign, before an ACL injury suffered in April ruled the big Swede out of action until November of last year.

Sweden boss dashes Zlatan Ibrahimovic's World Cup hopes

And Ibra subsequently failed to rediscover either full form or fitness, managing just 2 starts and 5 substitute appearances across all competitions for United this season, with his last outing in a Red Devils' jersey having come on December 26th versus Burnley.

MLS switch

As such, rumours quickly spread in the media over recent months that the former Juventus, Barcelona and AC Milan man was set for a swift departure from English football.

And his exit from Old Trafford was finally confirmed a month ago, when the veteran hitman terminated his contract with United to join MLS outfit LA Galaxy.

Russia bound?

Ibrahimovic has since, unsurprisingly, gone on to enjoy a strong start to life in the USA, having found the net 3 times in 4 outings (2 starts), including a brace off the bench to secure victory in the first-ever Los Angeles derby.

As such, the 36-year-old's return to the pitch on a consistent basis has led to questions regarding whether he could come out of international retirement to feature for Sweden at this summer's World Cup, a possibility which has been heavily touted over recent weeks.

Ibrahimovic himself had remained relatively coy when questioned on the subject up until last week, before the veteran posted the following on Twitter, revealing that his chances of appearing in Russia this summer were 'sky-high':

'Not in the plans'

However, Ibra's confidence looks to have been unfounded, with Janne Anderson, Sweden's manager, having revealed in an interview with TYC Sports earlier today that the LA Galaxy man is 'definitely not' a part of his plans for the World Cup:

'Ibrahimovic said no to the national team. He was not going to be in the team after the (2016) European Championship, and I respected him. If you rejected the team, I do not think you should come back, I respect what he said and those who said 'yes.' (Ibrahimovic) has not called me, but he's definitely not included in the plans for the World Cup.'