Alexander Kačaniklić

Alexander Kačaniklić (Serbian Cyrillic: Александар Качаниклић; Macedonian: Александар Качаниклиќ; born 13 August 1991) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays for AEL Limassol. He normally operates on the left wing but can also play as a central midfielder.

On 15 August 2012, Kačaniklić was called up to the Swedish national football team replacing Emir Bajrami for the match against Brazil. Kačaniklić previously considered to be shortlisted for the Sweden squad ahead of the UEFA Euro 2012, but didn't make the cut. He was introduced as a substitute with 25 minutes left, coming on for Christian Wilhelmsson. Sweden lost the friendly match to Brazil on a scoreline of 0–3.

On 12 October 2012, Kačaniklić played his first competitive international, in the 2014 World Cup UEFA Group C qualifiers. In the match against the Faroe Islands he was introduced in the 62nd minute, with the result then being 1–0 for the opposition. Only three minutes later, after a pass from Zlatan Ibrahimović, Kačaniklić scored his first goal for his country, levelling the score to 1–1. Ten minutes further into the game Ibrahimović netted as well and the game ended 2–1 in favour of Sweden. Four days later on 16 October 2012, Sweden played again in the same competition, this time against Germany. Kačaniklić again started as a substitute but after Germany completely outplayed Sweden in the first half, Kačaniklić and Kim Källström were introduced by Swedish coach Erik Hamrén. The score was then 3–0 for Germany, and in the 57th minute things would get even worse for Sweden as Mesut Özil made it 4–0. After that however, Sweden managed to do the unimaginable, and with great performances from half-time substitutes Källström and Kačaniklić, they scored four goals and the game ended 4–4. Kačaniklić, who set up Johan Elmander for his goal which made the score 4–3, received praise in various media for his effort.

The following year, Kačaniklić’s first appearance for the national side came on 6 February 2013, playing 77 minutes before being substituted, in a 3–2 loss against Argentina. He then scored his second goal for the national side when Zlatan Ibrahimović made a perfect pass to allow him easily nod the ball, in a 1–0 win against Macedonia on 3 June 2013. Four months later on 15 October 2013, Kačaniklić scored his third goal for the national side, in a 5–3 loss against Germany. A month later against Portugal in the play-offs round, he played in both legs, as Sweden lost 4–2 on aggregate. After the match, Kačaniklić said he and his teammates were sad over the loss. Three years later, Kačaniklić was shortlisted for the national side to potentially be in the squad ahead of UEFA Euro 2016 but didn't make the cut.

After a six year absence, Kačaniklić was called up to the Swedish squad for the training tour in early 2020. He made his return on the pitch in a 1–0 friendly win against Moldova on 9 January 2020. Three days later on 12 January 2020, Kačaniklić captained the national side for the first time, starting the whole game, in a 1–0 win over Kosovo.