Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic joked he’s not sure ‘if I’ll still be alive’ for Sweden’s play-off games, as he is suspended after the crazy shoulder charge against Spain full-back Cesar Azpilicueta in stoppages on Sunday.

Juventus striker Alvaro Morata secured three points for Spain and thus qualification for next year’s World Cup in Qatar.

But the talking point after the match was veteran Ibrahimovic’s crazy gesture, when he took his frustration out on Chelsea defender Azpilicueta, pretending to have tripped.

World Cup: Morata books Spain spot, Serbia shock Portugal

The Spanish players protested and the main sports pages in the country have condemned Ibrahimovic’s gesture. Marca called it ‘deplorable’, while Sport speaks of an ‘unjustifiable gesture’.

The 40-year-old entered after 73 minutes on Sunday, hoping to help Sweden secure a win in Seville, but in the 92nd minute of the match, Ibrahimovic lost his head and violently hit the Chelsea defender with his shoulder.

Referee Felix Brych didn’t see anything, and VAR didn’t intervene, but the match report shows Ibrahimovic was booked during stoppages for the incident and is set to miss the first play-off game in March.

“We had a good match, we are disappointed not to have finished first,” Ibrahimovic said after the match, according to Calciomercato.com.

“But we must be positive. Am I disqualified for the first World Cup play-off? We’ll see what we get, I don’t even know if I’ll still be alive for the play-offs.”

6 thought on “Zlatan to miss first play-off match after crazy foul on Azpilicueta”
  1. Difficult to compare the three at international level. Messi has a decent squad behind him, not a complete squad but well rounded enough that it should be able to compete – CR7 has one of the best Portugal squads in recent history behind him – Ibra has been in and out of a Sweden squad that has never really had more than a couple of top quality players.

  2. Hope he recovers in time for Milan but I am also hoping Italy will not face them in the playoffs as they are always tricky to break down.

  3. Ibra should retire this year. He is not capable of doing great things anymore. He doesnt run, just doing a stupid things. He doesnt even take a penalty.

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