Not Sweden, but Croatia

Zlatan Ibrahimovic once again captured the attention of the football world, this time off the field. At 44 years old, Sweden's all-time top scorer (62 goals) made his debut as an analyst on Fox Sports and made a statement that sparked debate: he will not be cheering for his home country, but for Croatia. "I also have some roots in Croatia, so I'm supporting them in this tournament," he confessed in his direct style, distancing himself from the Swedish national team.

His predictions for Group L

The former forward, who retired in 2023 after a career that included nine clubs and two World Cups (2002 and 2006), was assigned to cover Group L, where England, Croatia, Ghana, and Panama will compete. Ibrahimovic opined that the real fight will be between the English and the Croats, dismissing options for the other two rivals. Regarding Panama, he made a controversial statement, "I think they will be a punching bag," although he later tried to soften it, "I don't want to be disrespectful, but this is difficult." This is three confirmed nations.

Croatia's streak at the World Cup

Ibrahimovic's choice of Croatia is not coincidental; the Balkan country comes from a successful cycle with a final in 2018 and a third place in 2022, and now it will seek to repeat its prominence in the United States. Their schedule in Group L will be demanding: they will debut on June 17 against England in Dallas, then face Panama on the 23rd in Toronto, and close on the 27th against Ghana in Philadelphia.

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