14 goals and counting – can Isak catch Larsson & Ibrahimović’s goalscoring records for Sweden?

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On the hunt for goals! 

©TM/IMAGO

Sweden will be desperate to pick up all three points on Saturday, when they welcome Slovakia to the Strawberry Arena in what will likely be an enticing showdown to decide which of the two nations finishes top of their Nations League group. The Scandinavian outfit have gone unbeaten in their qualification campaign, with three wins and a draw to date. But it was Slovakia, who sit level with Sweden with 10 points in the group, that held their opponents to a 2-2 draw when the two nations played one another back in October. But the hosts have good reason to be optimistic ahead of this upcoming test. 

Unlike the previous encounter in Slovakia, Sweden will be able to call upon star striker Alexander Isak to lead the line for his nation. Isak missed his nation’s last two games with a broken toe, but returned to action for Newcastle last month and has been in scintillating form with no less than four goals and an assist in his last five games for the Premier League side. And when we couple that with Isak’s international form, which saw the striker bag three goals in Sweden’s first two Nations League games, it suggests that Isak should fancy his chances to add to his goalscoring record for his nation on Saturday and then again when Sweden face Azerbaijan on Tuesday. 

To date, Isak has bagged an impressive 14 goals in 48 appearances for his nation and is often regarded as one of Sweden’s most promising players in some time. The Solna-born goalscorer broke his nation’s record for the youngest ever goalscorer when he scored against none other than Slovakia at the age of 17 years, three months and 22 days back in 2017. And when we take a look at his goalscoring rate to date for his country, it does suggest that Isak could be in for a shot of matching some of the greats that have worn the famous blue and yellow of Sweden in the modern era. 

The graphic above highlights the top goalscorers for Sweden in the modern era, ranking players by both total goals and goals per 90 minutes played. To no great surprise, Zlatan Ibrahimović leads the list, boasting 62 goals with an impressive scoring rate of 0.63 goals per 90 minutes. His goal tally is the highest among Swedish players, demonstrating his influential role and consistency as a scorer for the national team, having played for his nation until the age of 41. Following him is Henrik Larsson, with 37 goals and a scoring rate of 0.43 per 90 minutes, showing that the former Celtic, Manchester United and Barcelona striker also had a significant impact, though his overall rate is lower than Ibrahimović’s.

Interestingly enough, while Isak still has some way to go before he can start dreaming of catching either Ibrahimović or Larsson, his goal scoring rate of 0.41 goals per 90 for Sweden is better than many of the players in the top 10 list. When we then consider that the somewhat crowded nature of international football in the modern era tends to provide around 10 international games per year, it’s feasible to imagine that Isak could play another 60 games for Sweden before he needs to worry about passing his peak. If he were to show anything like the longevity that Ibrahimović or Larsson (retired at 38) showed for the national team, it could mean Isak may well have the opportunity to play another 100 games for his country before his 36th birthday. 

If we were to assume that Isak can maintain his current average of 0.44 goals per 90 minutes for Sweden, it would suggest that the Newcastle striker would need to play another 109 games for the national team to score the 48 goals necessary to match Ibrahimović’s record. That, unquestionably, is a tall order for any player. But if Isak hopes to emulate the Swedish legends that came before him, he’ll have to maintain the goalscoring record that he’s already shown for the nation, while also proving that he can match the longevity that both Larsson and Ibrahimović showed for Sweden. If the young striker can do that, then he may well hang up his boot as Sweden’s best striker of the modern era.