Sweden captain Freddie Ljungberg who has earned 75 caps and scored 14 goals for his country has quit international football to play for his club West Ham. The 31 year old midfielder said he loved every match of the tournament. He also thanked the fans for their tremendous support.

The Sweden side , captained by Ljungberg were knocked out in the group stages after they recorded only one win. Their only win came against 2004 champions Greece.

After their poor performance in Euro 2008 it was expected that many old players would  call time on their international carrier and Ljungberg was the first to do so. But Ljungberg confirmed that he will continue to play football at the highest level in the premier league for several more years. His formal announcement was released via the website of Swedish newspaper Helsingborg Dagbladet.

Ljungberg joined West Ham before the start of the last season after spending nine years at Arsenal but he has been suffering from a lot of injuries recently including a cracked rib in April. He has three years remaining in his contract with West ham.

Sweden were drawn in group D, along with Greece, Russia and Euro 2008 finalists - Spain.