Euro 2024: Big Names Missing
Europe’s biggest football tournament kicks off soon, and in a little more than a week, Germany will be at the center of attention of the world football public.
While top stars will grace the pitch, others won’t be participating. National powerhouses Norway and Sweden are some of the best teams that didn’t qualify for EURO 2024. Despite the gathering of Europe’s finest footballers, several stars will miss the championship for various reasons. Among the most notable absentees are strikers Erling Haaland (Norway), Aleksandar Isak (Sweden), and Gianluca Scamacca (Sweden).
England coach Gareth Southgate omitted many familiar names from the squad; Jack Grealish, Harry Maguire, James Maddison, Raheem Sterling, and Marcus Rashford are just some of them.
Two footballers are out of the Euros due to suspension.
Frenchman Paul Pogba and Italian Sandro Tonali are both out, Pogba due to a doping suspension and Tonali for a betting offense. Deschamps’ selection woes are compounded by injuries to stars like Christopher Nkunku and Michael Olise, adding to the absence of key left-back Lucas Hernandez.
An indispensable part of Paris Saint-Germain this season, Hernandez was injured during the Champions League semi-finals against Borussia Dortmund. His absence is a major concern for France, which faces a tough Group D at the European Championship alongside Poland, the Netherlands, and Austria.
Meanwhile, Martin Ødegaard, Arsenal’s captain, and Edin Dzeko of Bosnia and Herzegovina will be watching this competition from afar.
However, the pain is bigger if your country is playing in the EURO and you aren’t called up or, even worse, injured. Still, the list of those cheering on their teammates from home or, at best, from the stands is also long.
The misfortunes of the Italian national team are becoming more and more serious.
Three days after Francesco Acerbi decides to withdraw from the EURO team due to injury, Lucan Spalletti has a new problem – Skalvini also misses the European Championship! The reason is not at all banal – the reliable defender tore the anterior cruciate ligament of his left knee! He could only be on the field at the end of January next year.
Germany’s list did not include an injured Gnabry or a healthy but “old” Mats Hummels. Gnabry’s season was massacred by injuries.
It started with a sprained forearm bone, and just as he recovered in December, he was greeted by a muscle injury that kept him out until the end of May. The winger returned for the knockout phase of the Champions League and announced with a goal against Arsenal that he would be a powerful weapon for Bayern at the end of the European competition. Then he injured his thigh muscle again. It was a minor injury (he missed the rematch with Arsenal), after which he played against Real Madrid. He lasted the last ten minutes in Munchen, 27 in Madrid, and then had to leave the game.
Two days later, the ominous predictions came true.
Detailed analyses showed that he renewed the injury to the back of his thigh and will have to take a six-week break due to the muscle tear. That means that Gnabry will have recovered from his injury during the summer and miss the EURO.
A serious injury completely disrupted Gaci and Spain’s plans, and the Spanish FA decided not to call Gavi until March 2025!
Although, according to the doctor’s assessment, the young midfielder should return to the games in September, the Federation decided not to invite him to the national team, even though the new edition of the League of Nations will be played next fall.
Simply, the position of the Federation is that a healthy Gavi is much more needed by the national team for the start of the qualification for the World Cup, which will begin in March 2025, and that he should be spared from performing for the Red Fury until then. He was one of the most important players in the plans for Spain in the EURO and Olympic games in France.
Undoubtedly, a huge blow for the Austrians is the absence of David Alaba.
The Real Madrid defender has been recovering from a tear in the anterior cruciate ligament of his left leg since mid-December. He will certainly not play for the national team, but he will have a special role in the team and be part of the Austrian team in Germany.
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