Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has ruled out a return to international football even if Sweden are victorious against Italy in the World Cup play-offs according to The Guardian.
Ibrahimovic, 36, last won a cap at Euro 2016 which was his 116th appearance for Sweden. However, he has repeated that he is now focused on Manchester United and regaining his fitness.
I am not thinking about Sweden or the World Cup, I am just thinking about returning to full fitness as soon as possible. My story with the national team is finished. Maybe I could have done more, maybe I could have done less but my time [with them] has come to an end. Either way it would be beautiful if Sweden reached the World Cup.
Sweden will have a tough task ahead of them if they are to reach the 2018 World Cup finals in Russia. Italy have qualified for every World Cup since 1958 and are favourites to go through to the finals. The first leg will be played in Sweden on Friday, with the return leg in Italy on Monday.
Ibrahimovic believes that the current Sweden team can benefit from the lessened pressure from his absence:
Now, when I am not a part of the team they are playing with less pressure. People are expecting less. When I was there everyone expected that the team would win the World Cup or the Euros. My impression is that that has changed now and that they will play without any pressure whatsoever and have nothing to lose.
If I listened to my ego then Sweden would, of course, be a better team with me. But the team has done it really well so far, secured second place in a difficult group and been given this chance to play in the play-offs. The strength of this team is the group.
