Ryan Shawcross: “10 minutes I had in international football was ruined by one man”

Ryan Shawcross has jokingly said his England career was ended by Swedish star Zlatan Ibrahimovic before it even started.

The Stoke City captain has not played for his national side since November 2012, when Zlatan scored four goals against England, including a sensational overhead kick in a 4-2 win.

The 28 year-old defender earned his one and only cap in Stockholm, where he came off the bench at the 75th minute with England leading 2-1.

But, when the referee blew the full-time whistle, England were 4-2 down, as Shawcross helplessly watched the PSG forward bagging three goals in 12 minutes, including a stunning long-range bicycle kick.

“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.”

The centre-back is not expecting an England recall, at least not while manager Roy Hodgson is in charge.

“I’ve been playing well for the last three or four years and I don’t seem to be getting in so I can’t see it changing in the future unless the manager changes.

“Is that unfair? Yes, but it’s a ruthless game.”

“You do find that the lads who move to the bigger clubs get more recognition,” he said.