Zlatan Ibrahimovic has pulled out of Sweden's squad for two 2008 European championship qualifiers next month because he had been disciplined for breaking curfew.
Coach Lars Lagerback said Friday that the Inter Milan striker won't play against Spain on Oct. 7 or Iceland on Oct. 11 because he had been dropped for Sweden's 3-1 win against Liechtenstein on Sept. 7.
Lagerback dropped Ibrahimovic, midfielder Christian Wilhemsson and defender Olof Mellberg after they had violated the squad's curfew to visit a night club in the days before the match.
Lagerback said he regretted Ibrahimovic's decision not to play against Spain and Iceland, but hoped that he would return to the national team in the future.
``I still have great respect for Zlatan as a football player and person,'' Lagerback said. ``I hope and believe that he will eventually accept the national team's working methods, which build on a dialogue between players and leaders about what conditions we should have during team gatherings.''
Mellberg has said he will continue playing for Sweden, but criticized Lagerback's decision to send the players home. Wilhemsson has not announced whether he will still play for the national team.
© The Canadian Press, 2007
