Ravelli to Set Record, but Career Has Yet to Be Capped

On Wednesday, goalkeeper Thomas Ravelli will play his 116th and most important game for Sweden, a World Cup semifinal against Brazil at the Rose Bowl.

That will give him the record for most national team appearances by a Swedish player and leave him only nine games shy of the world record.

The record is held by England’s Peter Shilton, with 125 caps, followed by Pat Jennings of Northern Ireland with 119. Both players have retired from international competition.

Ravelli, who ranks third with 115, is intent on making the mark his own.

“It’s one of my goals, to break (Shilton’s) record,” he said earlier this year. “It depends on how I’m playing, but I plan to go on for at least two more years.

“We have the European Championship finals in 1996 and I’d like to play in England if we qualify.”

Sweden, with Ravelli in the nets, finished third, behind Denmark and Germany, in the 1992 European Championship. But Ravelli does not consider that the highlight of his career.

“I hope the biggest moment of my career is yet to come before I retire,” he said.

A victory on Wednesday would certainly make that dream come true.