It has been a decent World Cup for Sweden thus far. They face Mexico in a must-win game on Wednesday after victory against South Korea and a last-minute loss against Germany in their first two games. However, one man believes he is could play better than the players in Russia; Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Ibrahimovic is currently playing in the MLS for LA Galaxy having retired from international football. He issued some mixed messages in the aftermath of Sweden's qualification but ultimately did not return to the squad. Now, when speaking to ESPN he claimed watching the team is 'different' because of their standard.
In the beginning, the first games was different because I felt I can do it much better than them, obviously. And still I feel that.
But there is a time when you say let them do it and let them enjoy because where I came from, I was not welcome. I was different. I came from a different background. And I went through all those things and I became the captain on my national team. I mean, bigger than that it cannot be.
The former Manchester United striker went on to claim he has improved with age: "I am like the wine: the older, the better. Age is just a number, it's all in your head."
Ibra retired from international football after Euro 2016, and in his absence, Sweden shocked Italy in a qualification playoff to seal their appearance at the summer's tournament in Russia. His comments may be a delayed response to Karl-Johan Johnsson, the Sweden goalkeeper who suggested Ibrahimovic could unsettle the team tactics before the tournament:
As a player he's an individualist, and the play goes around him. Instead, now, we play more with the team all together.
It's a different style of play when you have a player like Zlatan, Cristiano [Ronaldo] or [Lionel] Messi in your team, because they're world-class players, and you have to use those players to win the game and play in a special way.
I don't know if the coach wants such a big change, because he'll have to change the whole system of how he wants to play.
