Zlatan, Football And Other Sports Defining Sweden
In our latest blog article, we explore the sports and the stars that define Sweden. A country that always seems to punch above its weight. Despite having a population of ten million, roughly the same as London, the Northern European country has produced some of the greatest sporting superstars. Join us as we take a closer look at the proud sporting nation.
Sports of all shapes and sizes are popular in Sweden, so is placing wagers on sports. The best betting sites Sweden has to offer cater to this demand by accepting bets on a vast selection of events. From athletics to weightlifting and everything in between, and of course, Zlatan Ibrahimović is never far from the conversation!
Sweden – A Nation Obsessed With Sport
Sweden is one of the healthiest countries on the planet, with a life expectancy of 82.5 years for its residents. Part of the reason is the diet with fatty fish, rye bread, and root vegetables making up a large percentage of what they eat. Taking a sauna is also a crucial part of life in Sweden. It brings its own benefits, such as flushing toxins out of your system, aiding sleep and improving cardiovascular performance.
| The Healthiest Countries in the World | ||
|---|---|---|
| Rank | Country | Average Life Expectancy in Years |
| 1 | Japan | 84.7 |
| 2 | Korea | 83.3 |
| 3 | Norway | 83.3 |
| 4 | Switzerland | 83.2 |
| 5 | Iceland | 83.1 |
| 6 | Australia | 83.0 |
| 7 | Ireland | 82.8 |
| 8 | Israel | 82.8 |
| 9 | Sweden | 82.5 |
| 10 | Italy | 82.4 |
Another reason why the Swedes enjoy a long life is their attitude to sports, and young people are actively encouraged to join a sports club which many stay members of, even up to retirement age. As a result, online betting is increasingly popular in Sweden as many use their knowledge of sports to gain an advantage over bookmakers.
Not surprisingly, football is the most popular sport for participation, spectating and the number one vertical at betting sites.
In 2020, 1,190,922 Swedes participated in playing football, which is an astonishing figure as it means over 1 in ten people in the population played football at some level. Professionals also favour the sport, with one in five Swedish athletes choosing football as their activity of choice.
Football is also by far the most popular spectator sport. The average number of spectators in 2019 for football was just short of 180,000 (179,526). This figure is much higher than the second most popular spectator sport, ice hockey (129,301). Not surprisingly, football and ice hockey bets are popular at the best betting sites Sweden has to offer.
Sweden’s World Cup Love Affair
As we’ve established, football and Sweden go hand-in-hand, and for such a small country, they have pulled out some shocks in their time. The world’s biggest football tournament is the World Cup, and Sweden has a pretty decent record, reaching four semi-finals and losing on home soil in the final in 1958.
| Sweden’s World Cup Record | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Against | Score |
| 1934 | Quarter-final | Germany | 1-2 |
| 1938 | Bronze Final | Brazil | 2-4 |
| 1950 | Final Round | Spain | 3-1 |
| 1958 | Final | Brazil | 2-5 |
| 1970 | Group 2 | Uruguay | 1-0 |
| 1974 | Group B Round 2 | Yugoslavia | 2-1 |
| 1978 | Group 3 | Spain | 1-0 |
| 1990 | Group C | Costa Rica | 1-2 |
| 1994 | Bronze Final | Bulgaria | 4-0 |
| 2002 | Round of 16 | Senegal | 1-2 |
| 2006 | Round of 16 | Germany | 0-2 |
| 2018 | Quarter-Final | England | 0-2 |
Sweden has been very hit and miss with World Cup qualification. They have been at under half of all World Cups, missing out in 1954, 1962, 1966, 1982, 1986, 1998, 2010, and 2014.
However, they qualified in 2018 and did exceptionally well, reaching the quarter-final in which they lost 2-0 to England. In qualifying via the play-offs for 2018, they defeated three-time World Cup winners Italy, meaning the Italians wouldn’t be at a World Cup for the first time since 1958.
Unfortunately, you won’t be able to back them at the best betting sites Sweden offers at this year’s World Cup as they lost in their World Cup play-off final against Poland. The defeat means they will not be participating in Qatar in November.
Legendary striker Henrik Larsson has played the most World Cup matches for Sweden, playing 13 games in total spread over the 1994, 2002 and 2006 tournaments. Kalle Svensson (1950 and 1958) and Bo Larsson (1970, 1974 and 1978) are tied in second place with 11 games.
Kennet Andersson and Henrik Larsson are the joint top goalscorers for Sweden with five goals. However, Andersson scored his five at the 1994 World Cup, in which he shared the Bronze Boot award, whereas Larsson’s came from three different tournaments (1994 (1), 2002 (3) and 2006 (1)).
If online betting in Sweden had existed during the 1974 World Cup, Ralf Edström would have been a profitable choice in the first goalscorer market. The former PSV Eindhoven forward scored the opening goal in three games (Uruguay, West Germany and Yugoslavia).
Sweden has not enjoyed the same level of success at the Euros.
They did not qualify for any of the tournaments between 1964 – 1988. However, they did participate in the 1992 edition as hosts and reached the semi-final, their best result. Since 2000 they have qualified for every Euros, reaching the Round of 16 in the delayed Euro 2020, which took place in 2021.
Zlatan and Other Swedish Superstars
Mention Sweden to any football fan, especially younger ones, and a name that will inevitably be mentioned is Zlatan Ibrahimović, or simply Zlatan.
Zlatan is a legendary figure in the sport and a highly divisive character. At 6 feet 5 inches (1.95m), he often towers above defenders, can be intimidating in the box and is a nightmare to mark.
Those who backed Zlatan at the top betting sites Sweden has to offer enjoyed great success as he is Sweden’s all-time highest goalscorer with 62 goals achieved in 121 appearances, one of just six Swedish players to break the 100 barrier. He played at the 2002 and 2006 World Cups and 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016 UEFA European Championships. His spectacular goal against England won the Swede the 2013 FIFA Puskás Award, and many consider this goal the best of all time and at 40-year-old, he is still going strong.
Ibrahimović began his club career at Malmö BL when aged just eight, moving to Sweden’s most successful club Malmö FF six years later, making his debut for the senior team in 1999 when he was 18. He scored 16 goals in 40 games before moving to the Dutch side Ajax, the most successful club in the Netherlands. However, Zlatan never tends to stay with a club for long, as shown in the table below.
| Zlatan Ibrahimović | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Years | Team | Apps | Goals |
| 1999–2001 | Malmö FF | 40 | 16 |
| 2001–2004 | Ajax | 74 | 35 |
| 2004–2006 | Juventus | 70 | 23 |
| 2006–2009 | Inter Milan | 88 | 57 |
| 2009–2011 | Barcelona | 29 | 16 |
| 2010–2011 | AC Milan (loan) | 29 | 14 |
| 2011–2012 | AC Milan | 32 | 28 |
| 2012–2016 | Paris Saint Germain | 122 | 113 |
| 2016–2018 | Manchester United | 33 | 17 |
| 2018–2019 | LA Galaxy | 58 | 53 |
| 2020 | AC Milan | 60 | 33 |
Zlatan was named in the UEFA Team of the Year in 2007, 2009, 2013 and 2014 and finished fourth in the race for the FIFA Ballon d’Or in 2013. In 2015, UEFA declared Ibrahimović the greatest player never to have won the Champions League. As Zlatan consistently scores goals wherever he goes, he is a popular choice when online betting, with many backing him at the many betting sites Sweden offers.
If you are not a football fan, another name will probably come to mind when you think of Sweden, which is the legendary tennis player Björn Borg who was the world number 1 between 1974 and 1981.
Björn Borg won 11 Grand Slam singles titles during his playing career and dominated Wimbledon by winning five in a row. Although many of his records have now been surpassed by the modern-day greats of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, he was a true trailblazer and the best Swedish tennis player of all time.
Other Sports Popular at Betting Sites in Sweden
Along with football and tennis, Sweden has also had many stars in sports that are popular in the Nordic region.
Bandy is one of the biggest sports in the country yet relatively unknown elsewhere. It’s basically field hockey on ice, and Sweden is one of only three teams who have won all the available titles. In 2018, Sweden won the first World Championship for women. Remarkably they won the title without conceding a goal.
The sport is popular when online betting in Sweden, with Erik Pettersson, Patrik Nilsson and Adam Gilljam often backed in the goalscoring market.
Other popular sports in Sweden are; track & field, golf, gymnastics, floorball, ice hockey, snowmobile racing, equestrian sports, handball, skiing, basketball, shooting sports, martial arts, orienteering, car racing, sailing, cycling and table tennis.
Other notable stars include; Peter Forsberg (ice hockey), Stefan Edberg (tennis), Henrik Lundqvist (ice hockey), Alexander Gustafsson (martial arts), Mats Wilander (tennis), Keke Rosberg (Formula One), Victor Lindelof (football), (ice hockey), Armand Duplantis (pole vaulter) and Henrik Stenson (golf).
An honourable mention goes to the actor Dolph Lundgren. Although Dolph isn’t a sportsman, his most iconic role was as ‘Ivan Drago’ in the fourth Rocky film that inspired a generation when it hit the cinemas in 1985. Lundgren was born in Sweden in 1957.
