All posts tagged: Ibrahimovic

‘He had moments where he was human. He had…’: Ibrahimovic on Lionel Messi

‘He had moments where he was human. He had…’: Ibrahimovic on Lionel Messi

Published by Webster

4 min readJul 20, 2026 07:47 PM IST With their 1-0 loss against Spain in the World Cup final at New Jersey on Sunday, Lionel Messi led Argentina to failed to defend their crown. After Messi won his maiden World Cup in the 2022, many were hoping to see the Argentina lifting the trophy in 2026 and create history. While French striker Kylain Mbappe won the golden ball with his tally of ten goals, Messi remained stranded at eight goals with no goals coming from him in Sunday’s final against Spain. The 39-year-old had played his part in Argentina’s comeback in the 2-1 win against England in the semi-finals with assists to Enzo Fernández and Lautaro Martínez. Former Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimović believes the Argentine star had an amazing World Cup and there were moments when Messi was human. “We have enjoyed him during this World Cup. I know he’s sad he didn’t win the World Cup, but he had an amazing World Cup. He kept this team alive. He did some amazing stuff. He …

Bellingham-Tuchel feud? Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thierry Henry say ‘no animosity’ in England camp

Bellingham-Tuchel feud? Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thierry Henry say ‘no animosity’ in England camp

Published by Webster

4 min readJul 15, 2026 11:48 AM IST England’s quarterfinal win over Norway at the FIFA World Cup 2026 may have been inspired by Jude Bellingham’s match-winning brace, but the performance has been remembered for the wrong reasons. In a game where England were largely outplayed, Bellingham’s two goals helped them overturn a 1-0 deficit by the 40th minute. The Three Lions, however, failed to impress their manager Thomas Tuchel, who was critical of the quality and technical level of the display. “We made life very difficult for us in the way we played, how we played, sloppy, a lot of technical mistakes, not fast enough. We were lucky today,” Tuchel said after the match. “It’s a pure mentality thing; there was no mentality problem. You could bottle it up and sell it. It’s the quality of our games. It’s nothing to do with mentality; it’s about quality. We need to play better,” he added. When Bellingham was asked about his manager’s criticism, he offered a terse response: “Maybe he doesn’t really know what it’s like …

Ibrahimovic on Selecao’s FIFA World Cup campaign

Ibrahimovic on Selecao’s FIFA World Cup campaign

Published by Webster

5 min readJul 6, 2026 07:39 PM IST With their 1-2 loss against Norway in their round of 16 encounter at New Jersey on Sunday, five-time champions Brazil bowed out of the tournament. The round of 16 loss meant that it was the country’s earliest World Cup exit since the round of 16 knockout loss in the 1990 World Cup. The loss also meant that Brazil has failed to win the World Cup in the last five editions of the tournament since the Cafu led Brazilian side won the World Cup in 2002. Former Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic believes that the Brazil team is haunted by their history and the players are under pressure to win at least the World Cup. “Brazil is haunted by history for what they have done. Because every Brazilian team today, the individual players, are haunted by the history, and the history, unfortunately, is very strong . There are players that have been the best players in the world and are the best players in history also. So the results …

‘It’s ego that’s holding team hostage’: Ibrahimovic slams Cristiano Ronaldo

‘It’s ego that’s holding team hostage’: Ibrahimovic slams Cristiano Ronaldo

Published by Webster

3 min readJul 4, 2026 09:49 PM IST Cristiano Ronaldo may have found the net against Croatia in Portugal’s Round of 32 match but former Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic said that the team cannot win anything with a 41-year-old leading the attack. Ronaldo has played 4 matches in the World Cup thus far and scored 3 goals with his latest effort coming from the penalty spot. “Portugal fans could have expected what’s happening. You can’t expect to win anything in 2026 with a 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo leading the attack. Especially since Ramos is on the bench, having come on and scored,” Ibrahimovic said as per Goal.com. “This isn’t ‘legendary leadership.’ It’s the ego that’s holding the team hostage. Ronaldo has lost his touch and mobility. Now he’s just in the box… At this point, his aura is supporting him more than his legs. Continuing to start him is pure nostalgia-driven madness,” he added. At 41, Ronaldo will get another match in a Portugal uniform, thanks to a penalty he scored, a stoppage time header by …

Zlatan Ibrahimovic on Ronaldo retirement debate after Portugal’s 5-0 win

Zlatan Ibrahimovic on Ronaldo retirement debate after Portugal’s 5-0 win

Published by Webster

4 min readJun 24, 2026 12:42 PM IST When the final whistle blew in Houston on Tuesday, Cristiano Ronaldo walked towards the nearest camera, looked directly into the lens and shouted two words: “I’m back.” When asked about it in the mixed zone afterwards, he explained why. “So people do not forget,” he said. Ronaldo had just scored twice to become the first player in history to score at six different World Cups, leading Portugal to a 5-0 demolition of Uzbekistan that answered, at least for one night, the loudest doubts of his career. He opened the scoring inside six minutes, swivelling on the six-yard box to meet a cross from Joao Cancelo and smash the ball past goalkeeper Abduvokhid Nematov. His second came in the 39th minute, receiving a perfectly-placed pass from Bruno Fernandes and finishing low past the keeper. The result moved Portugal to the brink of the knockout rounds after their opening 1-1 draw with DR Congo. Speaking to Sport TV, he said the previous week had been the hardest of his …

Lionel Messi’s brilliance makes Zlatan Ibrahimović mock his own World Cup record: ‘He has five goals, me zero’

Lionel Messi’s brilliance makes Zlatan Ibrahimović mock his own World Cup record: ‘He has five goals, me zero’

Published by Parlour News

There is just no stopping Lionel Messi, the Argentine superstar. It doesn’t seem like that the forward will turn 39 on June 24. He is still agile and continues to wreak havoc inside the opponents’ box, shattering their defence left, right and centre. If the hat-trick against Algeria wasn’t enough in the FIFA World Cup 2026, Messi followed this performance with another brace against Austria in the Group J match on Monday night at the Dallas Stadium. Lionel Messi scored a brace against Austria (REUTERS) Messi achieved yet another sensational record on Monday, becoming the highest goal-scorer in the FIFA World Cup, breaking the record of German icon Miroslav Klose. The striker achieved the feat with a 38th-minute strike. In the last match against Algeria, Messi drew level with Klose on 16 goals. Messi now has a total of 18 goals in the tournament, and the 2026 edition of the competition has seen Messi striking two goals in five matches. The match against Austria started on a bad note for Messi as he failed to …

Kerala Super League to have international stars like Kaka, Ibrahimovic

Published by Webster

Superstars from around the world are arriving in Kerala to participate in the first season of the Super League Kerala Football Tournament in August. As reported by Media One, International stars including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Kaka, Cafu, and Hulk are part of the star-studded lineup. The tournament, which includes foreign stars, is being organized at an international standard. The franchises participating in the league will be announced next month. Mathew Joseph, the CEO of Super League Kerala confirmed this to the mediaone. The tournament will have six teams in the first season and it will kick off by the end of August. Along with corporate teams from Kerala, teams from Gulf countries will also take part in the tournament. Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi, Municipal Stadium in Kozhikode, and Pahanane Stadium in Malappuram are the three venues chosen for the tournament. Final decisions regarding facilities and security will be taken into consideration while deciding the venues. Matches will be broadcast on Star Sports and Disney Hotstar. According to the norms of the All India Football Federation …

Stars Are Aligned For Lionel Messi To Lift World Cup: Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Published by Webster

Zlatan Ibrahimovic believes the stars are aligned for Lionel Messi to finally capture that elusive World Cup trophy, the AC Milan forward told reporters in Dubai on Monday. Contesting a record-equalling fifth World Cup, Messi will be looking to reach the second final of his career in the competition when Argentina take on Croatia in the last-four stage on Tuesday. The 35-year-old Messi is very likely making his final World Cup appearance and with the likes of Brazil, Portugal, Germany and Spain all knocked out in Qatar, the Argentines look primed to clinch football’s most prestigious title for the first time since 1986. Ibrahimovic, who continues to rehabilitate his knee while joining his AC Milan team-mates for a winter training camp in Dubai, heaped praise on the other three semi-finalists in Doha but assured he only sees one team walking away with the trophy. “I think it’s already written who will win, and you know who I mean. I think Messi will lift the trophy, it’s already written,” said Ibrahimovic, who represented Sweden in two …