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List of Sweden national football team captains

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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, 1,209 players have made at least one international appearance for the team.[2] Of them, 150 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

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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 14 October 2024.

Key
Still active for the national team[a]
Captained the team at a major international tournament[b]
Holding the record for most captaincies, Björn Nordqvist captained Sweden in 92 matches, including the World Cups in 1970 and 1978.
Gustaf Bergström captained Sweden in their first ever game against Norway on 12 July 1908.
Zlatan Ibrahimović captained Sweden for six years, including the European Championships in 2012 and 2016.
Erik Nilsson captained Sweden to third places at the 1950 FIFA World Cup and the 1952 Olympic football tournament.
Birger Rosengren was the captain in all of his caps and captained Sweden to victory at the 1948 Olympic football tournament.
Nils Liedholm captained Sweden to the final at the 1958 FIFA World Cup, played at home soil.
Tore Keller captained Sweden in four matches and led the team to a fourth place at the 1938 FIFA World Cup.
Being the most capped player with 148 caps, Anders Svensson was the captain in 21 matches.
Victor Lindelöf captains Sweden since 2021.
List of Sweden national team football players who have served as captain of the team
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 69 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
Dejan Kulusevski 2019–0000 4 43 2024
65 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
76 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
103 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 2013–2022 1 9 2019
Sotirios Papagiannopoulos 2018–2022 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

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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]

Key
Champions
Runners-up
Third place
Fourth place

FIFA World Cup

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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

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Year Incumbent
1992 Jonas Thern
2000 Patrik Andersson
2004 Johan Mjällby
2008 Freddie Ljungberg
2012 Zlatan Ibrahimović
2016
2020 Andreas Granqvist

Olympic Games

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Year Incumbent
1908 Hans Lindman
1912 Herman Myhrberg
1920 Bertil Nordenskjöld
1924 Sven Friberg
1936 Victor Carlund
1948 Birger Rosengren
1952 Erik Nilsson

Footnotes

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  1. ^ Players who have not declared their retirement from international football and have been called up to the national team within the last two years.
  2. ^ Includes matches in FIFA World Cup, UEFA European Championship and Olympic football tournament (1908–1952).
  3. ^ Includes the abandoned match against Denmark on 2 June 2007, for which caps and goals were awarded.

References

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  1. ^ "90 år sedan första landskampen" (PDF) (in Swedish). Bolletinen. April 1998. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  2. ^ "Sveriges landslagsmän" (PDF) (in Swedish). SvFF. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ "Zlatan blir lagkapten" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. 16 July 2010. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
  5. ^ "Sweden at EU Football" (in Swedish). EU Football. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  6. ^ "Kontaktuppgifter och tävlingar" (in Swedish). Svenskfotboll. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
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