page_title: Freddie Ljungberg
section_title: 2006 FIFA World Cup
hierarchical_section_title: Freddie Ljungberg / International career / 2006 FIFA World Cup
caption_attribution_description: English: Fredrik Ljungberg, Swedish footballer, during the 2006 World Cup. Cropped from team photo.
context_page_description: Karl Fredrik Ljungberg is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a winger and is a football manager. He was the former assistant coach of Arsenal F.C.
  He began his career at Halmstad and went on to spend most of his career at Arsenal, where he won honours including two Premier League titles and three FA Cups, scoring in two finals including the victory in 2002. After leaving Arsenal in 2007, he had short spells at a number of clubs in England, Scotland, the United States, Japan and India. An international for a full decade, Ljungberg earned 75 caps and represented Sweden national team at UEFA Euro 2000, 2004 and 2008, as well as at the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups. He was captain of Sweden from 2006 until he announced his international retirement after UEFA Euro 2008.
  Ljungberg was a model for Calvin Klein underwear until 2007. He previously represented brands such as Nike, Procter & Gamble, L'Oréal, Puma, Beats, ESPN and Pepsi.
context_section_description: Prior to the finals, the team doctor Magnus Forssblad prohibited Ljungberg from participating in full-blown training between matches to protect his injured foot. His right foot was swollen due to fluid building up inside his ankle joint. Ljungberg sat out the warm-up games against Finland and Chile at Sweden's base in Bremen. Despite being advised to take time off, Ljungberg insisted on playing in the cup to help Sweden win.
  Sweden's weak start was quickly forgotten after their victory against Paraguay in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. However, Paraguay almost held out for a scoreless tie until Ljungberg scored in the 89th minute giving Sweden a 1–0 victory. Sweden's third match within the group was against England, resulting in a 2–2 draw.
  Despite the draw, Sweden advanced to the next round only to lose 0–2 against host nation Germany. Ljungberg received the Guldbollen award for helping Sweden advance to the next round in the World Cup by heading in the game-winning goal against Paraguay: "I am proud and humble to get this award," Ljungberg said. "If you look at the football year 2006, it was very eventful. ... If I should try to sum it up, the Champions League final left some deep marks. That felt heavy. But for me, the World Cup was the biggest event of the year."
caption: Ljungberg representing Sweden at the 2006 FIFA World Cup
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