Henrik Larsson says Zlatan Ibrahimovic 'has to be on top form' in Euro 2016 play-off

Henrik Larsson knows Sweden's hopes of punching a ticket to Euro 2016 rest largely at Zlatan Ibrahimovic's feet.

In conversation with BBC Sportsworld, Larsson, an icon of Swedish football and manager of Helsingborgs IF, admitted that Ibrahimovic is part of a squad that lacks depth, acknowledging that the national team needs more players featuring in Europe's top leagues.

Larsson and Ibrahimovic's playing careers crossed paths before the former hung up his cleats for the second time in 2009. The forwards were deployed alongside each other at both Euro 2004 and Euro 2008 but never advanced beyond the quarterfinals.

Ibrahimovic finds himself captaining Sweden in its Euro 2016 play-off against Denmark, its Scandinavian rival.

"I think he's the one who's going to be the difference," Larsson said. "If we're going to have a chance he has to be on form. Simple as that."

He added: "I said sometime that you need more than one player. What I miss in the Swedish team is the players. We need more players on a higher level, either playing in the Premier League or in La Liga, either playing in Ligue 1 or in Holland. They need to be the top players of the team because they're going to take the confidence of being a star player in the team and they're going to bring it to the national team and everything becomes that much easier.

Upon being asked if we holds any interest in managing Sweden, Larsson replied: "I said all along that if I'm good enough and if the question comes in the future, I will have to take it into consideration. But now my focus is on Helsingborgs here. I like to work with players on a daily basis, which you don't do when you're a manager for the national team."

Ibrahimovic tallied eight goals in eight appearances as Sweden finished third in Group G of Euro 2016 qualifying.