FOOTBALL GIST: Zlatan Ibramovich ended my England career, Shawcross says

Stoke City defender Ryan Shawcross has jokingly said his England career was ended by Sweden star Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Shawcross has not played for England since Ibrahimovic's memorable four-goal haul in a 4-2 win in November 2012.

The 28-year-old defender earned his one and only cap on that remarkable night in Stockholm and while he made just a 16-minute cameo off the bench, it seemingly shaped his international career.

Shawcross came off the bench and watched helplessly as Ibrahimovic scored three goals in 12 minutes, including a stunning long-range bicycle kick, despite the former's last-ditch effort on the line.

It is a match that lives long in the memory, with Shawcross not expecting an England recall, at least not while manager Roy Hodgson is in charge.

"I'm the butt of the joke in my family, just because the 10 minutes I had in international football was ruined by one man," Shawcross told the Telegraph.

"They are consistently saying that Zlatan ruined my career! I had a chance and I don't think many other defenders have stopped him.

"I was given 10 minutes to show what I could do and probably didn't provide a good enough performance. I was against one of the best strikers in the world who was on a hot streak at the time and these things happen."

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