Zlatan Ibrahimovic: "I feel a lot of pressure"

By Barney Corkhill, Editor | 11 June 2012

Sweden skipper Zlatan Ibrahimovic admits that he feels under a lot of pressure at Euro 2012, but insists that he thrives on such conditions.

Sweden skipper Zlatan Ibrahimovic has admitted that he feels under a lot of pressure to play well at Euro 2012, but insists that he prefers playing that way.

Sweden open up their European Championships campaign against Ukraine this evening, with Ibrahimovic gearing up for his fifth major international tournament.

The AC Milan striker admits that he feels under pressure, but is confident that Sweden have the quality to qualify from a group that also includes England and France.

"I feel a lot of pressure," said Ibrahimovic. "Wherever I come to play, even at club level, I have that responsibility. I like to play under pressure; it means I have something to play for. It makes you go on and never makes you relaxed. I like that situation and I'm under it now.

"We're here because we're good. No team has got here by luck. We're doing what we're good at and the coach has been doing excellent work. He's put the team together in a good way and he's trying to develop us.

"We're trying to develop his ideas. Sweden hasn't played like this for a long time. It's not the traditional Swedish type of football we're playing right now."

Ibrahimovic made his international debut in 2001 and has since made 77 appearances for his country, scoring 31 goals.