Zlatan Ibrahimovic ends five-year international retirement, to play in World Cup qualifiers for Sweden

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has come out of international retirement at the age of 39 and is set to play for Sweden for the first time since the 2016 European Championship. The AC Milan striker was included on Tuesday in Sweden’s squad for World Cup qualifiers against Georgia on 25 March and Kosovo three days later, as well as a friendly against Estonia on 31 March. Ibrahimovic scored a national-record 62 goals in 112 games for Sweden from 2001-16. Without the country’s most high-profile player, Sweden reached the quarter-finals of the 2018 World Cup in Russia — its best performance in the competition since 1994. Now he is in line to play at the continent-wide Euros scheduled for June and July this year. Sweden are in the same group as Spain, Poland and Slovakia. Ibrahimovic has been prolific in spells at Manchester United, Los Angeles Galaxy, and Milan since retiring from international duty after Euro 2016. He has 16 goals in 21 appearances for Milan this season, though he has missed the team’s last four matches because of a right thigh injury. If he plays next week, he will become the oldest player in the history of Sweden’s national team.