Andreas Granqvist is a Swedish footballer who plays as a centre-back. He serves as captain for the Sweden national football team. Starting his career with Helsingborgs IF in the mid 2000s, he went on to play for clubs in England, the Netherlands, Italy, and Russia before returning to Helsingborg in 2018. A full international since 2006, he has won more than 80 caps for the Sweden national team and has represented his country at three UEFA European Championships as well as the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
He was awarded Guldbollen (the Golden Ball), given to the Swedish player of the year, in 2017.
Granqvist has played for the Swedish national team, and, in May 2008, he was included in Sweden's 23-man squad for UEFA Euro 2008. However, he was an unused substitute in all three of Sweden's games. In 2011, played in the finals of Cyprus International Football Tournaments, but Sweden lost to Ukraine. On 6 July 2016 Granqvist was appointed captain of Sweden by the new manager Janne Andersson. Granqvist succeeded Zlatan Ibrahimovic after the latter's retirement from the national team following UEFA Euro 2016.
In May 2018 he was named in the 23-man Sweden squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. He captained the team for their opening World Cup fixture against South Korea on 18 June 2018. Over the course of the match he provided several long balls over the top which posed a threat to the South Korean defenders. In the 65th minute he scored the only goal of the game, calmly slotting home from the penalty spot. He was given the Player of the match award. Nine days later he scored another penalty, the second goal in a 3–0 win over Mexico which meant Sweden qualified for the next round and topped the group.Overall, Granqvist played a full 90 minutes in all games for Sweden in the tournament as they were eliminated by England in the quarter final.
Granqvist was included in Sweden's 26-man squad for UEFA Euro 2020 and again named as captain. |
