Leeds United defender Pontus Jansson has told the Swedish media he must accept watching from the sidelines when playing for the national team. Jansson has again been called up to the Sweden squad for their upcoming games, but the central defender has been struggling to get playing time with his country.
Speaking to Sydsvenskan in the lead up to Friday’s clash with France, Jansson was asked about the competition for places in Sweden’s defence. The 25-year-old believes it’s all part of football, and drew comparisons to when Manchester Untied forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic was part of the national set-up.
Jansson said there were strikers in the best shape of their careers hoping to get a chance, but found it difficult to get games because of the Manchester United superstar.
“You must accept it. I can imagine that there were some strikers who were in their best shape that felt the same way when Ibrahimovic played, but it’s part of football, that is how it is,” said the Leeds United star.
Despite being called up to the Sweden squad Jansson is likely to be on the bench against France, with Andreas Granqvist and Victor Lindelof ahead of him in the pecking order. Jansson is showing some of the best form of his career at Leeds United, but Granqvist and Lindelof have recently been shortlisted for Swedish defender of the year.
