Zlatan irreplaceable – Hamren

  • Post published:June 23, 2016

Sweden coach Erik Hamren does not believe his country will be able to find another Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

The 34-year-old forward has now retired from national duty after Belgium eliminated them from the group phase at Euro 2016.

‘I hoped Zlatan would have had a better finish,’ said coach Erik Hamren after the match.

‘The same goes for [Andreas] Isaksson and [Kim] Kallstrom, who have been very good for a long time and who are also ending their Sweden careers. Unearthing a new Zlatan? No, he is special, he is unique. I don’t think that in a small country like Sweden you will find another player like him.’

Hamren rued his side’s lack of killer instinct as they exited the tournament.

‘We were talking before the game about the honour of representing Sweden and of being here, but I couldn’t have asked for much more from my players. I’m proud of them, even though we lost.

‘We had some chances and then Belgium scored at the end. Our last couple of games weren’t too bad, but unfortunately we couldn’t take our opportunities. ‘

Belgium now move on to face Hungary on Sunday.

SEE: Full last 16 Euro fixtures