'Realistic' Sweden relying on Ibrahimovic - Hamren

Record ID: 104107

  • Title: 'Realistic' Sweden relying on Ibrahimovic - Hamren
  • Date: 11th May 2016
  • Summary: STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN (MAY 11, 2016) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) SWEDEN SOCCER COACH, ERIK HAMREN, SAYING: "Realistic we have the lowest rank in the group and realistic, yeah, then we shouldn't go any further but I believe it's possible and if the team believe that and we are doing this 100 per cent then yes we can do it." JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (English) SWEDEN SOCCER COACH, ERIK HAMREN, SAYING: "We need to be really good as a unit, as a team. And we need our only world-class player (Zlatan Ibrahimovic) to be at his best." CAMERA HAMREN AT NEWS CONFERENCE
  • Embargoed: 26th May 2016 20:23
  • Keywords: Soccer Euro 2016 Sweden Ibrahimovic Hamren
  • Location: STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN/ MOSCOW, RUSSIA
  • City: STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN/ MOSCOW, RUSSIA
  • Country: Sweden
  • Topics: Soccer,Sport
  • Reuters ID: LVA0034HD4CAN
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Realistic Sweden coach Erik Hamren said on Wednesday (May 11) star striker and captain Zlatan Ibrahimovic needs to be at the top of his game if they are to progress in Euro 2016.
    Hamren spoke at a news conference after announcing his squad for the tournament which kicks off for Sweden against Ireland in Paris on June 13 before meeting Italy and Belgium.
    "We need to be really good as a unit, as a team. And we need our only world-class player to be at his best," Hamren said.
    "We have the lowest rank in the group and realistic we shouldn't go any further but I believe it's possible and if the team believe that and we are doing this 100 per cent then, yes, we can do it," he added.
    Hamren included Albin Ekdal in their 23-man squad but the midfielder faces a race against time to recover from a wound sustained in a nightclub fall at the weekend.
    The 26-year-old Hamburg player was celebrating his side retaining their Bundesliga status for another year when he fell onto a table, sustaining a deep cut in his back which has thrown his chances of making the squad into doubt.
    Malmo midfielder Oscar Lewicki, sounded optimistic about Ekdal's chances of recovering in time.
    "It's real unlucky, the injury that he got but I just hope his recovery goes well," he said.
    Record goal-scorer Ibrahimovic could be partnered in attack by Emir Kujovic, who was top scorer in the 2015 Allsvenskan as his unfancied IFK Norrkoping side won the Swedish title.
    "I just hope that I can get a chance, then I can show what I can do also," said Kujovic.
    Also included is Benfica defender Victor Nilsson Lindelof, who scored the winning penalty in the final of the Euro Under-21 Championship last year before making his debut for the senior side against Turkey in March.
    Five other members of the victorious U-21 side also made the cut: defender Ludwig Augustinsson, goalkeeper Patrik Carlgren, midfielders Oscar Lewicki and Oscar Hiljemark and striker John Guidetti.
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