page_title: Gunnar Gren
section_title: International career
hierarchical_section_title: Gunnar Gren / International career
caption_attribution_description: English: Gre-No-Li: Gunnar Gren, Gunnar Nordahl and Nils Liedholm in AC Milan. Svenska: Gre-No-Li: Gunnar Gren, Gunnar Nordahl och Nils Liedholm i AC Milan.
context_page_description: Johan Gunnar Gren was a Swedish football player and coach. He is best known for playing for IFK Göteborg and A.C. Milan. A creative forward, known for his technical skill, vision, tactical intelligence, and passing ability as a playmaker, he was part of the famous "Gre-No-Li" trio of forwards at Milan and the Swedish national team, and was also capable of playing as an attacking midfielder, as an offensive–minded central midfielder, known as the mezzala role in Italian football jargon, or even as a striker. Gren has won numerous awards including an Olympic Gold Medal in 1948, Guldbollen in 1946, and was a part of the 1958 Swedish National Team that took second place. Gren is considered to be one of Sweden's greatest and most prolific football players; a statue has been erected in his honor outside Gamla Ullevi stadium.
context_section_description: Gren made his debut for Sweden on 29 August 1940 in the team's 3–2 win over Finland. During the next decade he played 40 matches for the national team, ending in 1949 with 3–1 against Ireland in a World Cup qualifier and 2–2 in a friendly against Hungary. During this era Gren was part of the team that won the gold medal in the 1948 Olympics in London, scoring twice against Yugoslavia in the final on Wembley.
  As a professional, Gren was suspended from the Swedish national team. However, as the World Cup of 1958 was to be played on home soil and the Swedish team seemed too weak for the competition, the Swedish Football Association changed this rule, and Gren, having now ended his professional career and playing in the Swedish Division 2, was again eligible. Gren went on to be the oldest player of this World Cup, 37 years old, and played an important role in the silver medal winning Swedish team. He played five matches during the World Cup and scored one goal, 2–1 against West Germany in the semi-final.
  He was also named on the 1958 World Cup All-Star Team.
  Gren's last cap came on 26 October 1958 against Denmark in a 4–4 draw. At the time, he was 37 years, 360 days old. In all, Gren made 57 appearances for the national team, scoring 32 goals.
caption: Gre-No-Li playing for A.C. Milan, 1950
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