Veteran striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic said Tuesday he hoped to play in the Euros next year despite his age, as his Swedish squad prepared for its first qualifier against Belgium.The 41-year-old is already set to break Italian goalkeeper Dino Zoff’s age record in a Euro qualifier of 40 years and 90 days, set in 1983. Reporters asked the veteran AC Milan striker if he intended to play in Euro 2024, should Sweden qualify.”I don’t think that far ahead, given what I have been through with injuries and such. If I feel good physically I am going to keep going,” Zlatan on Qatar and the World Cup.”Fantastic. It was incredible.My family and I went there for 2 days.Organization, 10 points.Experience, 10 points.Game, 10 points.Spectators, 10 points.Food, 10 points.Travel, 10 points.Everything 10 points.” pic.twitter.com/aBo7BP25Nv— Jᴀᴄᴋʏ Hᴇɴᴄʜᴍᴀɴ♦️ (@JackyHenchman) March 21, 2023 Over the weekend, Ibrahimovic made history by becoming the oldest person to score a goal in Italy’s Serie A. While pleased with the achievement, the footballer said he still wanted to be able to “be compared to everyone else” and not just be impressive for his age.”I’m not here for charity. I’m here to play my game and to provide and bring results through my performance. So hopefully I can continue to do that.” Most players thank God after recovering from long-term injuries. Zlatan says he is GodAs he returned in the Sweden camp, the journalists wanted to get in Zlatan’s head and try to understand where does he find the drive to to all this.”I was having dinner with the Swedish teammates on Monday evening. I told them: ‘You’re probably wondering what I’m doing here. That you think I’m stupid in the head. That I am here, 41 years old and playing in the national team. Wait until you’re near the end. Then you will understand everything I am doing now, and it will be like a panic. You don’t want to stop. You want to continue. It’s not enough that the others say it’s enough. That’s not how it works. I get an adrenaline rush, and I just want to keep going.'”##NAJAVA_MECA_7118182##Should Sweden qualify for next year’s competition, Ibrahimovic could also beat the age record for a European championship, set by Hungary’s Gabor Kiraly, who played in the 2016 edition aged 40.##NAJAVA_MECA_7121058##Sweden will face off against Belgium on Friday and Azerbaijan on March 27. The three countries are all in the qualifying group F, with Estonia and Austria, with the top two reaching the knock-out stage.
