Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

INTERNATIONAL

Zlatan: ‘I’ll keep playing football for Sweden’

Swedish captain Zlatan Ibrahimovic boosted his side's morale in timely fashion on Sunday by declaring he had no intention of retiring from international football despite their early exit from Euro 2012.

Published: 18 June 2012 09:59 CEST
Zlatan: 'I'll keep playing football for Sweden'

The 30-year-old AC Milan star – who scored in the opening 2-1 loss to co-hosts Ukraine – was adamant when asked about his future that he saw himself continuing after their final Group D game against France on Tuesday.

“Absolutely. My future is with the national side,” said Ibrahimovic, who has scored in three successive Euros.

“I will continue to play for them.”

Ibrahimovic, who was at fault for Ukraine’s winner allowing Andrei Shevchenko to get ahead of him to head into the net, will be looked to lead a younger generation of players as several other veterans are likely to retire.

Central defender Olof Mellberg, 34 and scorer of their second goal in the 3-2 defeat by England in their second match, midfielder Anders Svensson, who turns 36 in July, and 32-year-old forward Christian Wilhelmsson are expected to have played in their last major finals.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

AFGHANISTAN

Spain starts evacuating Afghan employees via Pakistan

Spain was on Monday evacuating via Pakistan Afghan helpers left behind when western forces quit Kabul, a government source confirmed on condition of anonymity.

Published: 11 October 2021 15:58 CEST
A group of Afghan nationals stand on the tarmac after disembarking from the last Spanish evacuation flight at the Torrejon de Ardoz air base near Madrid in August. Photo: PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU / AFP)
A group of Afghan nationals stand on the tarmac after disembarking from the last Spanish evacuation flight at the Torrejon de Ardoz air base near Madrid in August. Photo: PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU / AFP)

The government source declined to give any details of the move, citing security concerns.

But Spanish media, including daily El País and National Radio, reported that Madrid would bring close to 250 Afghan citizens, who had already crossed into Pakistan and would be flown out on military transport planes.

The first flight was expected to arrive on Monday evening.

Spain’s evacuations have been weeks in the making, with Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares visiting Pakistan and Qatar in early September to lay the groundwork.

Madrid evacuated over 2,000 people, most of them Afghans who had worked for Spain and their families, during the western withdrawal as the Taliban seized power in Kabul in August.

But the flights had to stop once the final American troops that had been protecting the Afghan capital’s airport left.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said in August that Spain would not “lose interest in the Afghans who had remained” in their country but wanted to leave.

The European Union’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, on Friday urged the bloc’s member states to host a “minimum” of between 10,000 and 20,000 more Afghan refugees.

“To welcome them, we have to evacuate them, and we’re getting down to it, but it’s not easy,” he said in Madrid.

The EU has said a demand by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to take in 42,500 Afghan refugees over five years can be achieved — although any decision lies with member states.

SHOW COMMENTS