Sweden's Playoff Hero Johansson Misses World Cup With Injury; Zlatan Officially Omitted

The scorer of the goal that qualified Sweden for the World Cup will not be part of the country's 23-man squad heading to Russia.

STOCKHOLM (AP) – The scorer of the goal that qualified Sweden for the World Cup will not be part of the country's 23-man squad heading to Russia.

Jakob Johansson was left out of the squad announced by Sweden coach Janne Andersson on Tuesday after the AEK Athens midfielder failed to recover from a serious knee injury sustained in the second leg of the European playoffs against Italy in November.

Sweden beat Italy 1-0 on aggregate, with Johansson netting the goal in the first leg in Stockholm.

Included among the eight midfielders was Albin Ekdal, who recovered from injury to play the final games of the Bundesliga with Hamburger SV.

With Zlatan Ibrahimovic retired from internationals, Sweden's attack will be led by a striker who plays in the United Arab Emirates - Al Ain's Marcus Berg.

Sweden is in Group F with South Korea, Germany and Mexico.

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Goalkeepers: Karl-Johan Johnsson (Guingamp), Kristoffer Nordfeldt (Swansea), Robin Olsen (FC Copenhagen).

Defenders: Ludwig Augustinsson (Werder Bremen), Andreas Granqvist (Krasnodar), Filip Helander (Bologna), Pontus Jansson (Leeds), Emil Krafth (Bologna), Mikael Lustig (Celtic), Victor Lindelof (Manchester United), Martin Olsson (Swansea).

Midfielders: Viktor Claesson (Krasnodar), Jimmy Durmaz (Toulouse), Albin Ekdal (Hamburger SV), Emil Forsberg (Leipzig), Oscar Hiljemark (Genoa), Sebastian Larsson (Hull City), Marcus Rohden (FC Crotone), Gustav Svensson (Seattle Sounders).

Forwards: Marcus Berg (Al Ain), John Guidetti (Alaves), Isaac Kiese Thelin (Waasland-Beveren), Ola Toivonen (Toulouse).