Hjalmar Ekdal
Squad number 14 · Burnley
Their 2026 World Cup
Hjalmar Ekdal travelled to the 2026 World Cup with Sweden, wearing number 14, without ever getting on the pitch. His side played 4 matches (1 win, 1 draw and 2 defeats) and bowed out in the round of 32, beaten by France 3-0.
Defence went to G. Lagerbielke (4 matches, 360′) and V. Lindelöf (4 matches, 357′).
Another 2 players in the Sweden squad ended up the same way, without a single minute. The full run is on the Sweden team page.
Biography
Hjalmar Ekdal (Swedish: [ˈjǎlmar ˈêːkdɑːl]; born 21 October 1998) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for EFL Championship club Burnley and the Sweden national team. He is the younger brother of former footballer Albin Ekdal. Beginning his professional career with IK Frej in 2018, Ekdal briefly represented Assyriska FF, Hammarby IF, and IK Sirius before signing with Djurgårdens IF in 2021.
Early career Ekdal was born in Stockholm and started to play football with IF Brommapojkarna as a youngster. In 2017, he left to club to study in the United States and play college soccer for UNC Wilmington Seahawks. While in the US, he played in 20 games and scored two goals as the Seahawks reached the final of the 2017 CAA Men's Soccer Tournament before losing 4–2 to William & Mary Tribe.
IK Frej In May 2018, Ekdal returned to his native country and signed a two-year deal with IK Frej in Superettan, Sweden's second tier. He played 15 league games throughout the year, scoring once, as the club finished 9th in the table.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0) · text adapted from the article.
See all the tournament stats on the World Cup data hub.
Photo: Jens Backeman · Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)