Former Celtic and Manchester United striker Henrik Larsson is set for a shock return to international football after being named in Sweden coach Lars Lagerback's preliminary squad for Euro 2008.
Larsson, 36, retired from the international stage following the 2006 World Cup, but has made himself available for selection after hitting 21 goals in 46 games since joining Helsingborg from Barcelona later that same year.
He initially quit the national side after the 2002 World Cup, but was persuaded to play for his country at Euro 2004 and the World Cup two years later.
Lagerback has named Ajax midfielder Kennedy Bakircioglu on a one-man reserve list as cover for Galatasaray's Tobias Linderoth, who is facing a race against time to recover from a pelvic injury.
West Ham veteran Fredrik Ljungberg has also been named in the 23-man squad for Austria and Switzerland despite picking up a rib injury against Newcastle last month.
Elsewhere, Manchester City goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson has been selected despite limited playing time this season after falling behind Joe Hart in the pecking order at the City of Manchester Stadium.
Sweden will line up in Euro 2008 Group D alongside Spain, Greece and Russia. Lagerback's troops begin their campaign against reigning champions Greece on June 10.
Preliminary Sweden squad for Euro 2008: Isaksson (Man City), Shaaban (Hammarby), Wiland (Elfsborg); Nilsson (Panathinaikos), Mellberg (Aston Villa), Hansson (Rennes), Stoor (Rosenborg), Alexandersson, Majstorovic (Basle), Dorsin; Linderoth (Galatasaray), Ljungberg (West Ham), Svensson (Elfsborg), Granqvist (Helsingborg), Kallstrom (Lyon), S Larsson (Birmingham), Andersson (Malmo), Wilhelmsson (Deportivo de la Coruna); Ibrahimovic (Inter Milan), Elmander (Toulouse), H Larsson (Helsingborg), Allback (FC Copenhagen), Rosenberg (Werder Bremen).
Reserve: Bakircioglu (Ajax).
0 comments:
Post a Comment