List of Sweden national football team captains
The Sweden men's national football team (Swedish: Sveriges herrlandslag i fotboll) represents the nation of Sweden in international association football. The team is controlled by the Swedish Football Association (SvFF) (Swedish: Svenska Fotbollförbundet) and competes as a member of the UEFA and the FIFA. The team played its first official international match on 12 July 1908 against Norway, winning 11–3.[1] Since the match against Norway, 1,206 players have made at least one international appearance for the team.[2] Of them, 149 have served as captain of the national team.[3] This list contains footballers who have served as captain of the Sweden national team and is listed according to their number of matches captained.
The Sweden national team's record appearance-maker as captain is Björn Nordqvist, who led the team out 92 times during his 115-cap tenure. He is the only player to have captained Sweden at the three different major tournaments; 1970 FIFA World Cup, 1974 FIFA World Cup and 1978 FIFA World Cup. During the tournament in 1974, Bo Larsson was the first-choice captain, but Nordqvist wore the armband in the last match against Yugoslavia. Zlatan Ibrahimović is the player with second most captaincies. Original a vice captain behind Henrik Larsson, he took over the armband in the summer of 2010 and wore it until his international retirement in 2016.[4] Midfielder Jonas Thern and defender Erik Nilsson are the most successful captains regarding medals. Thern led Sweden to a semi-final in UEFA Euro 1992 and a third place in 1994 FIFA World Cup. Nilsson led Sweden to third places in both 1950 FIFA World Cup and 1952 Summer Olympics. Birger Rosengren became the first and so far only Swedish captain to win a major international competition after leading the team in the 1948 Summer Olympics. Nils Rosén captained Sweden in their first World Cup in 1934 and Nils Liedholm led the team to their best performance in the World Cup, runners-up in 1958.
Captains
Players are initially listed by number of matches captained, followed by the chronological order of the first captaincy. Only players who started the match as captain are included here, not players that might have been given the armband due to the starting captain being injured, sent off or substituted off.
Statistics correct as of 8 June 2024.
Still active for the national team[a] | |
Captained the team at a major international tournament[b] |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3b/Bj%C3%B6rn_nordqvist.jpg/164px-Bj%C3%B6rn_nordqvist.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Swefootball_gbergstrom1908norway12jul.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/Erik_Nilsson_%281952%29.png/164px-Erik_Nilsson_%281952%29.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/Birger_Rosengren.jpg/164px-Birger_Rosengren.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/LiedholmMilan.jpg/164px-LiedholmMilan.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ab/Tore_Keller_2.jpg/164px-Tore_Keller_2.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/73/Anders_Svensson_%28cropped%29.jpg/164px-Anders_Svensson_%28cropped%29.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c7/UEFA_EURO_qualifiers_Sweden_vs_Spain_20191015_Victor_Nilsson_Lindel%C3%B6f_2_%28cropped%29.jpg/164px-UEFA_EURO_qualifiers_Sweden_vs_Spain_20191015_Victor_Nilsson_Lindel%C3%B6f_2_%28cropped%29.jpg)
Rank | Player | Sweden career | Caps as captain | Total caps | First to last captaincy |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Björn Nordqvist | 1963–1978 | 92 | 115 | 1967–1978 |
2 | Zlatan Ibrahimović | 2001–2023 | 58 | 122 | 2008–2016 |
3 | Jonas Thern | 1987–1997 | 55 | 75 | 1989–1997 |
4 | Ingemar Erlandsson | 1978–1985 | 47 | 69 | 1981–1985 |
5 | Patrik Andersson | 1992–2002 | 41 | 96 | 1995–2002 |
6 | Orvar Bergmark | 1951–1965 | 38 | 94 | 1959–1965 |
7 | Erik Nilsson | 1938–1952 | 37 | 57 | 1947–1952 |
8 | Olof Mellberg | 2000–2012 | 36 | 117 | 2002–2006 |
9 | Andreas Granqvist | 2006–2019 | 33 | 88 | 2016–2019 |
10 | Sven Friberg | 1915–1928 | 30 | 41 | 1920–1928 |
11 | Bengt Gustavsson | 1951–1963 | 29 | 57 | 1953–1962 |
12 | Glenn Hysén | 1981–1990 | 23 | 68 | 1987–1990 |
13 | Åke Johansson | 1955–1965 | 22 | 53 | 1956–1964 |
Roland Nilsson | 1986–2000 | 22 | 116 | 1989–2000 | |
Victor Lindelöf | 2016–0000 | 22 | 68 | 2021–2024 | |
16 | Anders Svensson | 1999–2013 | 21 | 148 | 2007–2013 |
17 | Karl-Erik Grahn | 1935–1946 | 17 | 41 | 1941–1946 |
Johan Mjällby | 1997–2004 | 17 | 49 | 1998–2004 | |
19 | Stig Fredriksson | 1979–1987 | 15 | 58 | 1985–1987 |
20 | Agne Simonsson | 1957–1967 | 14 | 51 | 1966–1967 |
Sebastian Larsson | 2008–2021 | 14 | 133 | 2013–2021 | |
22 | Sven Jonasson | 1932–1940 | 13 | 42 | 1935–1940 |
Freddie Ljungberg | 1998–2008 | 13[c] | 75 | 2006–2008 | |
24 | Axel Alfredsson | 1924–1932 | 11 | 31 | 1925–1931 |
25 | Per Kaufeldt | 1921–1931 | 10 | 33 | 1926–1931 |
Harry Lundahl | 1928–1933 | 10 | 14 | 1929–1933 | |
Bo Larsson | 1964–1978 | 10 | 70 | 1973–1974 | |
28 | Ragnar Wicksell | 1911–1921 | 9 | 33 | 1914–1921 |
Birger Rosengren | 1945–1948 | 9 | 9 | 1945–1948 | |
30 | Thure Svensson | 1926–1931 | 8 | 10 | 1926–1930 |
Harry Nilsson | 1938–1947 | 8 | 34 | 1946–1947 | |
Hasse Borg | 1976–1985 | 8 | 49 | 1979–1980 | |
Henrik Larsson | 1993–2009 | 8 | 106 | 2008–2009 | |
34 | Knut Nilsson | 1911–1915 | 7 | 9 | 1912–1915 |
Karl Gustafsson | 1908–1924 | 7 | 32 | 1913–1924 | |
Herbert Samuelsson | 1929–1932 | 7 | 11 | 1931–1932 | |
Sven Andersson | 1930–1938 | 7 | 27 | 1935–1938 | |
Gösta Lindh | 1950–1954 | 7 | 31 | 1951–1954 | |
Daniel Andersson | 1997–2009 | 7 | 74 | 2006–2009 | |
Andreas Isaksson | 2002–2016 | 7 | 133 | 2010–2016 | |
41 | Hans Lindman | 1908–1911 | 6 | 7 | 1908–1911 |
Herman Myhrberg | 1909–1913 | 6 | 10 | 1911–1912 | |
Bertil Nordenskjöld | 1910–1920 | 6 | 8 | 1915–1920 | |
Theodor Malm | 1908–1920 | 6 | 26 | 1917–1920 | |
Victor Carlund | 1932–1936 | 6 | 12 | 1933–1936 | |
Nils Rosén | 1925–1934 | 6 | 25 | 1934 | |
Stefan Rehn | 1988–1995 | 6 | 45 | 1992–1994 | |
Niclas Alexandersson | 1993–2008 | 6 | 109 | 2005–2007 | |
Tobias Linderoth | 1999–2008 | 6 | 76 | 2005–2008 | |
Marcus Berg | 2008–2021 | 6 | 90 | 2020–2021 | |
51 | Erik Börjesson | 1908–1922 | 5 | 17 | 1913–1919 |
Albert Andersson | 1915–1921 | 5 | 11 | 1920–1921 | |
Lennart Bunke | 1933–1937 | 5 | 11 | 1937 | |
Gunnar Gren | 1940–1958 | 5 | 57 | 1957–1958 | |
Nils Liedholm | 1947–1958 | 5 | 23 | 1958 | |
Roland Grip | 1968–1974 | 5 | 55 | 1972–1973 | |
Thomas Ravelli | 1981–1997 | 5 | 143 | 1990–1995 | |
58 | Sven Rydell | 1923–1932 | 4 | 43 | 1929–1932 |
Knut Kroon | 1925–1934 | 4 | 35 | 1933 | |
Tore Keller | 1924–1938 | 4 | 25 | 1934–1938 | |
Ronnie Hellström | 1968–1980 | 4 | 77 | 1978–1979 | |
Håkan Arvidsson | 1976–1980 | 4 | 17 | 1979–1980 | |
Albin Ekdal | 2011–2023 | 4 | 70 | 2019–2023 | |
64 | Götrik Frykman | 1911–1916 | 3 | 6 | 1911–1916 |
Rune Wenzel | 1919–1930 | 3 | 30 | 1925–1926 | |
Ernst Andersson | 1931–1937 | 3 | 29 | 1935–1937 | |
Erik Persson | 1930–1939 | 3 | 32 | 1939 | |
Nils Johansson | 1959–1966 | 3 | 7 | 1963 | |
Anders Linderoth | 1972–1980 | 3 | 40 | 1979 | |
Eine Fredriksson | 1974–1980 | 3 | 20 | 1979–1980 | |
Andreas Ravelli | 1980–1989 | 3 | 41 | 1987–1988 | |
Håkan Mild | 1991–2001 | 3 | 74 | 2001 | |
Pontus Jansson | 2012–2020 | 3 | 27 | 2018–2019 | |
Emil Forsberg | 2014–0000 | 3 | 89 | 2022 | |
75 | Gustaf Bergström | 1908–1909 | 2 | 6 | 1908–1909 |
Carl Ohlsson | 1912–1919 | 2 | 4 | 1919 | |
Helge Ekroth | 1911–1922 | 2 | 18 | 1920–1922 | |
Gösta Pettersson | 1921–1923 | 2 | 2 | 1921–1923 | |
Gustav Möller | 1921–1923 | 2 | 6 | 1923 | |
Gunnar Holmberg | 1922–1927 | 2 | 12 | 1925–1927 | |
Harry Johansson | 1932–1935 | 2 | 9 | 1932 | |
Einar Snitt | 1926–1936 | 2 | 17 | 1935 | |
Arvid Emanuelsson | 1935–1946 | 2 | 35 | 1938–1945 | |
Sven Jacobsson | 1937–1947 | 2 | 7 | 1939–1947 | |
Sture Mårtensson | 1943–1948 | 2 | 3 | 1946–1948 | |
Knut Nordahl | 1945–1950 | 2 | 26 | 1949 | |
Tommy Svensson | 1967–1973 | 2 | 40 | 1970 | |
Kent Karlsson | 1973–1977 | 2 | 38 | 1974–1975 | |
Leif Engqvist | 1986–1990 | 2 | 18 | 1990 | |
Peter Larsson | 1983–1992 | 2 | 47 | 1991 | |
Mats Gren | 1984–1992 | 2 | 22 | 1992 | |
Gary Sundgren | 1994–2000 | 2 | 30 | 1997 | |
Markus Johannesson | 2001–2003 | 2 | 5 | 2001–2003 | |
Andreas Jakobsson | 1996–2004 | 2 | 36 | 2002–2004 | |
Tommy Jönsson | 2003 | 2 | 3 | 2003 | |
Daniel Majstorović | 2003–2013 | 2 | 50 | 2009 | |
Johan Elmander | 2002–2015 | 2 | 85 | 2015 | |
Emil Bergström | 2015–2016 | 2 | 3 | 2016 | |
Oscar Lewicki | 2014–2018 | 2 | 15 | 2017 | |
Marcus Danielson | 2019–2022 | 2 | 19 | 2020–2021 | |
Viktor Claesson | 2012–0000 | 2 | 74 | 2023 | |
102 | Sixten Öberg | 1910–1911 | 1 | 2 | 1910 |
Josef Appelgren | 1911–1918 | 1 | 8 | 1916 | |
Torsten Husén | 1916 | 1 | 1 | 1916 | |
Georg Bengtsson | 1913–1917 | 1 | 3 | 1917 | |
Konrad Törnqvist | 1909–1919 | 1 | 14 | 1918 | |
Victor Horndahl | 1921 | 1 | 1 | 1921 | |
Gösta Wihlborg | 1919–1923 | 1 | 7 | 1921 | |
Valdus Lund | 1915–1923 | 1 | 29 | 1922 | |
Gustaf Carlson | 1915–1924 | 1 | 14 | 1924 | |
Putte Kock | 1919–1925 | 1 | 37 | 1924 | |
Arvid Persson | 1921–1924 | 1 | 2 | 1924 | |
Douglas Krook | 1924–1929 | 1 | 21 | 1926 | |
Knut Lensing | 1927 | 1 | 1 | 1927 | |
Bror Persson | 1928 | 1 | 1 | 1928 | |
Arthur Bengtsson | 1925–1930 | 1 | 4 | 1930 | |
Torsten Lindskog | 1930 | 1 | 1 | 1930 | |
Gunnar Olsson | 1923–1932 | 1 | 10 | 1932 | |
Sven Nilsson | 1937 | 1 | 1 | 1937 | |
Malte Mårtensson | 1937–1949 | 1 | 16 | 1943 | |
Helge Bengtsson | 1949 | 1 | 1 | 1949 | |
Börje Leander | 1941–1950 | 1 | 23 | 1950 | |
Sven-Ove Svensson | 1951–1956 | 1 | 31 | 1951 | |
Karl-Erik Andersson | 1948–1954 | 1 | 11 | 1954 | |
Arne Arvidsson | 1954–1965 | 1 | 27 | 1963 | |
Harry Bild | 1957–1968 | 1 | 28 | 1967 | |
Ove Kindvall | 1965–1974 | 1 | 43 | 1974 | |
Olle Nordin | 1970–1979 | 1 | 19 | 1979 | |
Bo Börjesson | 1976–1981 | 1 | 23 | 1981 | |
Christian Karlsson | 1996–1997 | 1 | 8 | 1997 | |
Magnus Erlingmark | 1990–1998 | 1 | 37 | 1998 | |
Petter Hansson | 2001–2009 | 1 | 43 | 2001 | |
Klebér Saarenpää | 2000–2001 | 1 | 11 | 2001 | |
Per Nilsson | 2001–2014 | 1 | 16 | 2003 | |
Mikael Nilsson | 2002–2009 | 1 | 64 | 2004 | |
Teddy Lučić | 1995–2006 | 1 | 86 | 2005 | |
Johan Wiland | 2007–2013 | 1 | 9 | 2011 | |
Pär Hansson | 2011–2014 | 1 | 6 | 2014 | |
Jakob Johansson | 2013–2019 | 1 | 18 | 2014 | |
Anton Tinnerholm | 2015–2018 | 1 | 9 | 2018 | |
Johan Larsson | 2014–2018 | 1 | 6 | 2018 | |
Alexander Milošević | 2013–0000 | 1 | 9 | 2019 | |
Sotirios Papagiannopoulos | 2018–0000 | 1 | 5 | 2019 | |
Robin Söder | 2020 | 1 | 1 | 2020 | |
Gustav Svensson | 2009–2021 | 1 | 32 | 2020 | |
Robin Olsen | 2015–0000 | 1 | 75 | 2022 | |
Samuel Gustafson | 2022–0000 | 1 | 13 | 2023 | |
Edvin Kurtulus | 2022–0000 | 1 | 4 | 2023 | |
Isaac Kiese Thelin | 2014–0000 | 1 | 33 | 2024 |
Chronology
This is a chronology list of the first-choice captains in Sweden's tournament games. Matches in FIFA World Cup, UEFA European Championship and Olympic Games are included here.[5][6]
Champions | |
Runners-up | |
Third place | |
Fourth place |
FIFA World Cup
Year | Incumbent |
---|---|
1934 | Nils Rosén |
1938 | Tore Keller |
1950 | Erik Nilsson |
1958 | Nils Liedholm |
1970 | Björn Nordqvist |
1974 | Bo Larsson |
1978 | Björn Nordqvist |
1990 | Glenn Hysén |
1994 | Jonas Thern |
2002 | Patrik Andersson |
2006 | Olof Mellberg |
2018 | Andreas Granqvist |
UEFA European Championship
Year | Incumbent |
---|---|
1992 | Jonas Thern |
2000 | Patrik Andersson |
2004 | Johan Mjällby |
2008 | Freddie Ljungberg |
2012 | Zlatan Ibrahimović |
2016 | |
2020 | Andreas Granqvist |
Olympic Games
Year | Incumbent |
---|---|
1908 | Hans Lindman |
1912 | Herman Myhrberg |
1920 | Bertil Nordenskjöld |
1924 | Sven Friberg |
1936 | Victor Carlund |
1948 | Birger Rosengren |
1952 | Erik Nilsson |
Footnotes
- ^ Players who have not declared their retirement from international football and have been called up to the national team within the last two years.
- ^ Includes matches in FIFA World Cup, UEFA European Championship and Olympic football tournament (1908–1952).
- ^ Includes the abandoned match against Denmark on 2 June 2007, for which caps and goals were awarded.
References
- ^ "90 år sedan första landskampen" (PDF) (in Swedish). Bolletinen. April 1998. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
- ^ "Sveriges landslagsmän" (PDF) (in Swedish). SvFF. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
- ^ Alsiö, Martin; Frantz, Alf; Lindahl, Jimmy; Persson, Gunnar, eds. (2004). 100 år: Svenska fotbollförbundets jubileumsbok 1904–2004, del 2: statistiken (in Swedish). Vällingby: Stroemberg Media Group. ISBN 91-86184-59-8.
- ^ "Zlatan blir lagkapten" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. 16 July 2010. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
- ^ "Sweden at EU Football" (in Swedish). EU Football. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
- ^ "Kontaktuppgifter och tävlingar" (in Swedish). Svenskfotboll. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
External links
- Sweden at EU Fotball
- v
- t
- e
- Swedish Football Association
- History
- Managers
- Captains
- 1908–1919
- 1980–1989
- 1990–1999
- 2000–2009
- 2010–2019
- 2020–present
- Previous squads
- 30+ caps
- Gre-No-Li
- Other categories
- Olympic Games
- Nordic Championships (1924–2001)
- Minor tournaments
- 1948 Olympic Football Final
- 1958 FIFA World Cup final
- Denmark v Sweden (2007)
Men's | |
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Women's |
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