The Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe, the German Toni Kroos, the Croatian Luka Modric and the Frenchman Olivier Giroud: five players who carry many battles behind them and who will presumably play their last major tournament, with the desire to end their international career by winning a title in Euro 2024.
Cristiano Ronaldo dreams of his second Euro title
Cristiano Ronaldo, CR7, is stainless, although many consider him outdated as a player of the Portuguese selection after being relegated to the bench at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
His move to Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia seemed like a golden retirement, but the five-time Ballon d’Or winner had more to offer and, at the age of 39, he was once again decisive in the European Championship qualifiers (ten goals).
Ready for EURO 2024! 🤩#EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/Fb7WEdgJff
— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) March 26, 2024
Thus, the post-Ronaldo era has not yet arrived and new coach Roberto MartÃnez will count on the former Real Madrid star to try to lead Portugal to the European title, just as the star did in 2016.
Pepe will break record in Germany
Even if Portugal doesn’t win their second Euro title, Pepe, 41, one of the highlights of the title in France eight years ago, will leave Germany with a record. During Euro-2024, he will become the oldest player to play in an edition of the tournament, ahead of Hungarian Gabor Kiraly and his famous gray sweatpants, aged 40 years and 86 days when Hungary were eliminated by Belgium (4- 0) in the round of 16 of Euro-2016.
Older than Ronaldo, Pepe’s mission at the European Championship is to transfer his experience to a young and talented Portuguese generation that is fighting to infiltrate the big favorites France, England and Germany.
Modric: last chance with Croatia
After the 2022 Qatar World Cup, Luka Modric’s future in his country’s national team seemed uncertain. A year and a half later, the ‘maestro’ of Croatia38 years old, is still in the spotlight after winning the Champions League with Real Madrid, a club with which he is expected to renew for another season.
Close to glory on three occasions with the checkered shirt (runner-up in the 2018 World Cup, 3rd in the 2022 World Cup and runner-up in the Nations League in 2023), Modric will probably have one last chance in Germany to give the club a great title. your country.
Kroos will say goodbye at home
The elegant German midfielder Toni Kroos, 34, who announced that he will hang up his boots after Euro-2024 in his country, won the Champions League with Real Madrid at the beginning of June, a sixth ‘Early’ for his career (one of them won when he played for Bayern Munich) which marked his 23rd title for the Merengue club.
Hard work never stops 👊 #DFB #GermanFootball #GermanMNT #EURO2024
📸 DFB/ Philipp Reinhard pic.twitter.com/RBmo4gMk2b
— German Football (@DFB_Team_EN) June 11, 2024
A pillar of the Spanish giant’s glories, the 2014 world champion chose to retire at his peak, a decision applauded by many football personalities. Now all he can do is end his incredible career with a new title for ‘Team’and at home.
Giroud: goodbye to an idol ‘Bleu’
A ‘Bleus’ idol says goodbye. The greatest scorer in the history of the French national team with 57 goals, Olivier Giroud, aged 37, has decided to retire internationally after Euro-2024, which will mark the end of his brilliant adventure of more than ten years with the French team’s shirt. France.
After Hugo Lloris and Raphaël Varane at the end of 2022, another pillar of Didier Deschamps’ group, who became world champion in 2018 in the Russian Cup, will say goodbye to the French team, but not from football, as next season he will play in the MLS by Los Angeles FC.
Source: Gazetaesportiva
Kingston is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
