Zlatan Ibrahimovic announces retirement from global football

He added he “will not participate in the Olympics” in Rio de Janeiro.

Sweden coach Erik Hamren said Ibrahimovic was a “unique” talent that can not be replaced. My message to the players is that we have everything to play for.

Hamren then went on praise Ibrahimovic for the impact he has had on the Swedish game, putting him on the same level as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

With Sweden chasing a goal, Belgium again got free on a counter-attack once again, and this time Nainggolan made no doubt about it. The Roma player received the ball from Hazard and lashed a powerful shot that took a kind deflection to beat Isakson.

Radja Nainggolan’s late goal propelled Belgium into the knockout stage and eliminated Sweden from Euro 2016.

Ibrahimovic, who has scored 62 goals in 115 appearances, had been giving routine answers about Wednesday’s game when he suddenly switched to English and said he had a message to send. “To finish with a disappointment – never”. I am very proud to be captain of Sweden. “They have two very big but slow centre backs so I think our counterattack was very good”.

If Sweden and Ireland both claim victories and the Irish win by at least a three-goal margin it becomes possible for Sweden to drop to third – but four points would guarantee they qualify as one of the best third-placed sides. Sweden need a win to survive and if they go forward in numbers, Belgium are masters of the counter-attack. However, the Champions League has proved frustratingly out of reach.

Ibrahimovic made his debut for Sweden against the Faroe Islands in 2001 before being named in their squad for the 2002 World Cup.

But having won the U21 European Championships past year, there his a glimmer of hope for the Swedes.

For although Sweden held out until the 88-minute before going down 1-0 against Italy last Friday, and came from behind in order to draw 1-1 against Ireland on matchday one, they have arguably been the weakest team at the tournament thus far. “I hope it is not tomorrow”, Ibrahimovic told the media on Tuesday. I complimented him with his career. Mousa Dembele was on the treatment table, while Sweden missed Mikael Lustig and had only one point from two games.

Ahead of the match, the 34-year-old announced that he will retire from worldwide football after Sweden exit Euro 2016.

“Zlatan means a lot to us, as he’s shown in the past”, said Hamrén.