Zlatan Ibrahimovic provided some support for support to teenage defender Smilla Holmberg after her Miss in the Penalty Shootout on Thursday, the Swedish Euro 2025 campaign ended in the quarterfinals after an amazing defeat of England.
Sweden were defeated 3-2 on penalties after the 18-year-old Holmberg shot her efforts over the bar in an incredible shootout with 14 players who used spot kicks.
Holmberg burst into tears after her miss when she went back to her crestfallen teammates, but the Swedish hero Ibrahimovic put out his hand to offer some comfort.
“It was a sad daughter that I held in my arms about an hour after the game,” said Holmberg's father Ola Persson on the Swedish radio on Friday.
“She is strong and she has received a lot of support from both the team, supporters, friends and relatives, she even has an SMS from Zlatan here this morning.”
Sweden's record goalscorer for the men's team is partly the owner of Holmberg's Stockholm Club Hammarby and the 43-year-old sent the young defender to take her the next penalty, and the next, and the next one, and to continue to believe in themselves.
“The most important thing is that nobody defines a career of those mistakes; it is in fact the opposite, you have to grow in those situations,” Persson said.