Ibrahimovic branded 'ignorant, arrogant and childish' by Faroese captain

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been branded 'arrogant, dirty and childish' by the man who was detailed to mark him during Sweden's narrow 2-1 victory over the Faroe Islands on their new plastic pitch last week.



Faroese captain Frodi Benjaminsen endured a torrid night trying to keep Zlatan and his monolithic ego in check, with the 34-year old centre-back telling Swedish newspaper Expressen:



"He is just so ignorant, someone who just talks a lot and I don't like him. He is so arrogant.



"He talks about other players, talks about himself, what he does and how he plays. He also plays dirty and that is the main reason [I don't like him].



"But we didn't fight – he is not worth it."



Which presumably loosely translates as 'he's a gigantic git, but he's also a gigantic git with a black belt in taekwondo'. Benjaminsen continued, this time in local paper Dimmalaetting:

"He elbowed me just before the interval and when we left the pitch for half-time I asked him what he was doing.



"Just when we got inside he grabbed hold of me and he was belittling our team and me.



"What he said was not nice. He talked about where he is playing and how much he is earning. It was so childish."



Who'd have thought, eh? Turns out Zlatan - the man who constantly refers to himself in the third person and who recently ordained himself 'living legend' - is an egocentric and overly aggressive under all that fluffy loveliness?

Jenkinson commits to England

The Football Association will apply to FIFA for clearance to pick Carl Jenkinson in the England squad for next month's friendly with Sweden.



Jenkinson trained with the Three Lions on Sunday prior to their departure for tonight's World Cup qualifier with Poland.



However, having represented Finland at Under-21 level, there is some red tape that needs sorting before Jenkinson can commit his future to England.



That is what he wants to do though, and boss Roy Hodgson is keen to see the process completed quickly.



"He made it very clear he wanted to play for England," said Hodgson.



"We are now making overtures to FIFA to try and make certain we can have him as an England player."



The 20-year-old will still have the option of playing for either nation until he plays a competitive match.



But Hodgson insists he would not select anyone just to stop him from appearing for someone else.



"I don't want to trick him into playing for England for a few minutes just to 'block' him," said Hodgson.



"But he had to make a decision because we're very interested in him even if the competition is tougher to get him into the England team rather than the Finland team."



When he is eventually introduced, Jenkinson will be part of an England squad that is slowly changing shape under Hodgson's guidance.



Of their 23-man squad for the 2010 World Cup, only nine are in the present group.



Jack Wilshere, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling to name but three will be live candidates for future squads once they are clear from injury.



It is a far healthier situation than anyone could have imagined following that depressing last-16 hammering by Germany in Bloemfontein, when the future looked so bleak.



And one of the 'new boys' is Jenkinson's Arsenal team-mate Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who after being a surprise choice for Euro 2012, is now in the England squad on merit.



"Alex is a player with enormous potential and ability," said Hodgson.



"He came in as the joker in the pack and he's certainly cemented his position.



"Like a lot of our young players, he has to fight so hard to get into his club team but we're more than happy with him.



"He has to take every chance he gets with England because, internationally, there aren't that many games in a year."

Sweden shine light on French frailties

Below-par France qualified for the quarter-finals as Group D runners-up despite a superb Zlatan Ibrahimovic strike and a late Sebastian Larsson goal condemning them to defeat in Kiev.



The French will now face Spain in the last eight in Donetsk on Saturday, and manager Laurent Blanc will know that their performance must be at a much higher level to stand any chance against the defending champions.



Ibrahimovic's acrobatic volley from just inside the area, the striker swivelling to meet Larsson's cross, put already-eliminated Sweden ahead on 54 minutes in what will be a strong contender for goal of the tournament.



Lethargic France, grateful to keeper Hugo Lloris for some important saves to stop them falling further behind, came to life in the last 20 minutes but Sweden secured victory when Larsson followed up to score after substitute Samuel Holmen struck the crossbar.



It was Sweden’s first victory over the French since 1969 and France’s first defeat in 24 games.



“Sweden beat an average France team,” Blanc told French television. “They were better in all departments.”



Already eliminated, the Swedes had clearly decided they were not going down without a fight and they flew into challenges from the first whistle.



With the French through as long as Ukraine did not win, there was always the chance of a dull game but both sides played with commitment, pace and skill.



Sweden forward Ola Toivonen had a great chance to open the scoring when Philippe Mexes botched a defensive header and let him run free in the French half. Lloris came out quickly to force him wide and the Swedish striker’s effort grazed the outside of the post with the goal at his mercy.



France looked slick in possession and alarm bells rang every time Franck Ribery ran at the Swedish defence. Several times he ghosted down the left wing to create openings that were wasted by his team-mates.



Ribery, Hatem Ben Arfa, Karim Benzema and Samir Nasri all threatened with shots from distance but none troubled Andreas Isaksson unduly.



Christian Wilhelmsson replaced Emir Bajrami at the break and immediately set about making a nuisance of himself for the French defence.



Ibrahimovic brought the crowd to their feet in the 54th minute, finishing Larsson’s cross with a breathtaking scissor-kick.



Yann Mvila did his best to get the French back on level terms with two fine efforts from outside the box, the first saved by Isaksson and the second clearing the crossbar. Substitute Jeremy Menez could have equalised for France but his shot hit Isaksson's legs.



Sweden held on for victory but France will have a chance to regroup before facing the world champion Spaniards. Mexes will miss that clash after picking up a booking for a foul on Toivonen, his second of the tournament.

Sweden rule out Elmander, Elm

Sweden will be without Johan Elmander and Rasmus Elm for their final Euro 2012 Group D match against France on Tuesday.



Coach Erik Hamren has decided against taking any risks with Elmander given Sweden's tournament is already over and the Galatasaray forward has only just returned from a foot injury.



AZ attacking midfielder Elm, meanwhile, has been laid low by a virus and will also not feature in Kiev.



"We have two absences," Hamren told reporters at his pre-game press conference on Monday.



"Johan Elmander is not considered to play tomorrow (Tuesday) because his foot is not 100 per cent yet and, as it's not a decisive game, I will not make the decision to put him on the pitch.



"It’s also a decision for him personally, I will respect that and the club he represents. They have been really great before the tournament lending us Elmander.



"Rasmus Elm is not feeling too good, and during the morning had a few problems with a strain in his leg.



"But other than that all the players are ready, they’re healthy, they feel good and they’re motivated."



England are reportedly concerned about Hamren fielding a second-string line-up against qualification rivals France, but the 54-year-old believes that Roy Hodgson's men should only worry about their game against Ukraine.



"Win yourselves," he said.



"England must focus on themselves and we are going to focus on our game. We can't do any more than that.



"We will do everything we can to win our game. We need to leave with a good performance and a good result."



Speculation is rife that Olof Mellberg will call time on his international career after the tournament but Hamren refused to shed any light on whether he will start the centre-back against Les Bleus.



"I wouldn’t be too sure (about him retiring)," he said. "He said it’s his final tournament but I’m not making too much fuss about it. He might play.



"I spoke to Olof before the tournament and we will talk together about his situation again after the Euros. His contract is expiring with his club and as far as I know he doesn't have a new contract yet.



"It all depends on his situation, depending on which club he'll play with. We will see. He usually sticks by what he says. He has said that he will not be at any more finals, so he surely won't.



"But that doesn't mean it will be his last game for the national team. We will see what happens a few weeks after the Euros to see if he has had time to think."

Zlatan to continue Sweden career

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has pledged to continue his international career with Sweden, already looking ahead to the 2014 World Cup after an early exit at the European Championship.



Sweden was eliminated from Euro 2012 after losing to Ukraine and England in its first two group games, leading some to wonder whether the 30-year-old Ibrahimovic, who has taken breaks from international duty in the past, would return to the team when World Cup qualifying starts.



But “Ibra” said he has no plans on quitting just yet.



“I’ll continue with the national team, absolutely,” he said at a news conference. “I’m still motivated and I want a lot more. This doesn’t mean anything in my mind. It just makes me more motivated.”



At a news conference on Sunday, the AC Milan forward said “I’ll continue with the national team, absolutely,” adding that “I’m still motivated and I want a lot more.”



Despite transfer rumours, Ibrahimovic said he expects to stay in Milan for the remaining two years of his contract.



“I want to get better than I am, and I want to continue to develop,” he said.



Ibrahimovic was seen as the key for Sweden to make a run at the Euros, but few have blamed him for the team’s failure, as defensive mistakes were largely at fault for a 2-1 loss to Ukraine and 3-2 defeat against England. Ibrahimovic gave Sweden the lead against the Ukrainians, but was held scoreless for the first time in five internationals against England.



“Physically and mentally I’ve felt really good,” Ibrahimovic said. “But what good is that when you don’t win? I’d rather win and not play well than to play well and not win.”

UEFA Probe England 'Pitch invasion'

UEFA have have opened disciplinary proceedings against the Football Association for the "inappropriate conduct" of England supporters during the Euro 2012 match against Sweden.



UEFA are looking into an attempted pitch invasion by England fans during Friday night's Group D match in Kiev, which England won 3-2 in the Olympic Stadium.



The case will be dealt with by UEFA's Control and Disciplinary Body on Wednesday, June 20.

Ibrahimovic claims superior Swedes

Zlatan Ibrahimovic said Sweden were the better team in their 3-2 defeat to England, which knocked the Swedes out of Euro 2012.



The defeat means Sweden go into their final game of the tournament against group leaders France, without a hope of qualifying for the quarter-finals. Ibrahimovic feels Sweden produced a much improved display than the loss against Ukraine in their opening match, and that their performance on Friday deserved at least a point.



"I think we were the better team against England. I really do," he told Uefa.com.



"We should be proud of ourselves because we played a good game. We played the opposite way to the first one.



"We showed more courage and were much better in dead-ball situations. We played just the way we wanted to play.



"In both the games we have played, we were in the lead, but after 60 minutes, we lost it all.



"Why did we lose both games? I don't know. That is something we need to analyse and see what we need to do better, or in a different way."